2019-2020 Edition
SAT Guide
Reading Strategy
PrepVantage
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SAT Guide: Reading Strategy, 2019-2020 Edition
Copyright © 2019 PrepVantage Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1731085214
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Reading Fundamentals
Test Structure___________Page 3
Passage Types___________Page 4
Question Types___________Page 5
Initial Assessment: Testing, Skills, and Scoring
Diagnostic Test___________Page 8
Answers and Explanations ___________Page 24
Part 1: Major Issue Questions
Fiction Passages___________Page 38
Social Studies Passages___________Page 46
Science Passages___________Page 52
History Passages___________Page 58
Practice Questions___________Page 64
Answer Key___________Page 72
Continues on the next page
Part 2: Passage Detail Questions
Core Strategy___________Page 74
Question Types___________Page 76
Practice Questions___________Page 84
Answer Key___________Page 102
Part 3: Command of Evidence
Strategy, Single___________Page 104
Strategy, Paired___________Page 107
Practice Questions___________Page 110
Answer Key___________Page 126
Part 4: Word in Context
Strategy___________Page 128
Practice Questions___________Page 132
Answer Key___________Page 148
Part 5: Paired Passages
Science Pairings___________Page 150
History Pairings___________Page 153
Practice Questions___________Page 156
Answer Key___________Page 168
Part 6: Working with Visuals
Strategy, Comprehending the Visuals
___________Page 170
Strategy, Approaching the Questions
___________Page 172
Practice Questions___________Page 174
Answer Key___________Page 184
Part 7: Practice Tests
First Practice Test___________Page 186
Answers and Explanations ___________Page 204
Second Practice Test___________Page 218
Answers and Explanations ___________Page 234
Additional Content
Appendix A: Additional Checklists ___________Page 250
Appendix B: Citations for Passages
___________Page 262
Introduction
SAT Reading
Test Overview
Introduction
Reading Test Overview
Test Fundamentals
With the 2016 re-design of the entire SAT, test-takers were presented with a Reading section that follows
a highly predictable structure. Each SAT Reading test features the same five passage types and the same
question areas, all in combinations that have experienced only minimal changes in three years since the first
re-designed full tests appeared.
SAT Reading: Full Structure
Timing
Test Length
Passage Types
Question Areas
Special Features
65 Minutes
52 Questions
3250 Words for
ALL Passages
One Fiction
(10 Questions)
One Social Studies
(10-11 Questions)
One Historical Document
(10-11 Questions)
Two Science
(10-11 Questions EACH)
Major
Issue
Passage
Detail
Command of
Evidence
Word in
Context
Always ONE Paired
Passage Set (either
Science or History
Documents)
Passage
Comparison
Graphics and
Visuals
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3
Always TWO
Passages with
Visuals (Social
Studies and ONE
Science)
Introduction: SAT Reading Overview
Although the test displays considerable range in terms of passage types and question types, taking the test
itself can become supremely predictable with the right amount of practice. As you will soon see, passages
occur in a mostly fixed order, and questions occur in mostly fixed proportions. Moreover, the testing task itself
is designed to test the same mindset on every single SAT administered.
The Reading Section will ALWAYS test
comprehension, logic, and attention to detail.
The primary goal, with most passages, is to retain useful information on an initial read-through—and then to
work with precise textual details and mostly straightforward logic in order to answer the questions. Although
strengthening your vocabulary can definitely help with some passage types, the test is PRIMARILY evidencebased. Other types of analysis and background are of almost no use at all.
Personal assessment, creative interpretation,
and outside knowledge are NEVER tested.
If you are accustomed to actively evaluating what you have read or to ingeniously “reading between the
lines” as part of your normal coursework, you must learn to abandon these habits for the sake of the SAT
Reading section. On occasion, though, having strong opinions about a passage can help you to remember it
more effectively. Something similar can be said regarding outside knowledge: if you know about a topic that
appears on the SAT, you may automatically find it more accessible. Using assessments and outside knowledge
in this manner—to aid basic comprehension—is the ONLY effective use of these skills here, since any other
use may cause you to deviate from the EXACT evidence that a passage requires you to consider.
Passage Types
Each SAT Reading test will consist of the same five passage types, as designated by topic. The order in which
these appear is open to only a single and fairly minor variation, as shown below.
1. Fiction
2. Social Studies or History
3. Science
4. Social Studies or History
5. Science
Keep in mind that each test will have one Social Studies and one History passage; while the earliest College
Board tests always placed Social Studies as the second passage and History as the fourth, this order was
flipped with some regularity on the 2017-2018 administered tests. Just be aware of these facts if you do
eventually determine a preferred order for completing the passages.
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4
Introduction: SAT Reading Overview
Regardless of topic, all passages will run between 500 and 750 words. All passages will also feature the same
few question types, and each type should be approached in roughly the same way regardless of a passage’s
subject and difficulty.
Question Types
Major Issue
Questions about the overarching issues in a passage—purpose, main points, themes, structure—are typically
the first few questions that follow the passage itself. Since you have 65 minutes for a total of 52 questions,
you should DEFINITELY have enough time to read all of the passages in full if you pace yourself properly.
Use such reading to figure out some of the main issues BEFORE you are directly asked about them, and to
determine whether there are any shifts in topic, position, or writing strategy that are worth noting.
Major Issue questions are, in at least one way, topic sensitive. The types of details that you should read for and
the passage structures that you should be familiar with do vary from one passage type to another. For instance,
while History passages often call upon readers to understand the repercussions and counter-arguments that
surround socio-political issues, Science passages will in many cases rely on statistical information. However,
the necessity of finding and logically analyzing evidence NEVER varies, for this or any other question area.
Passage Detail
Passage Detail questions cover a range of issues—tone, characterization, inference, how a writing device
functions, how a paragraph is structured. These questions are nonetheless connected by format (since they call
attention to precise line references, or to details that are highly localized) and by strategy (logical prediction
based on passage content, then process of elimination). It will not always be easy to see at first glance how
a passage detail—which may feature dozens of lines or require considerable reading around—is meant to be
understood. However, careful work with evidence can help you to focus and to work step-by-step towards the
only appropriate answer.
Command of Evidence
The questions classified under Command of Evidence are something of a special feature of the current
SAT: neither the pre-2016 SAT nor the current ACT features a consistent equivalent. Some of these (Single
Command of Evidence) will be consolidated questions that begin with a phrase such as “Which line
reference . . . ” and require you to decide which line reference best supports a specific idea or inference. The
remainder (Paired Command of Evidence) will consist of linked questions: an initial question that reads like
a Passage Detail question, and a second question introduced by the sentence “Which choice provides the best
evidence for the answer to the previous question?” and accompanied by four line references for answers.
These two questions MUST be solved together for the sake of clarity and precision.
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Introduction: SAT Reading Overview
You can always expect roughly 15-20 Command of Evidence questions, some single and some paired. Of
these, 10 will feature answer choices that are nothing but line references, while the rest will be initial questions
that are linked to line reference choices.
Word in Context
Any question that opens with the phrasing “As used in line [#], [WORD/PHRASE] most nearly means . . . ”
should be automatically understood as a Word in Context question. Your task with this topic area is to analyze
a word that takes on multiple possible meanings or contexts in standard English—all in order to determine
which meaning the passage is utilizing. Although the words themselves are not always strange or obscure,
these questions can challenge your ability to work through multiple possibilities and conscientiously eliminate
those that are not supported by a close reading.
You can expect to see 10 Word in Context questions on a typical SAT Reading section, yet there have been
exceptions to this formatting. On some College Board tests, there are fewer than 10 questions that take the
classic “As used in line . . . ” form described above—and there are additional Passage Details questions that
focus on individual words or phrases. Do not be disoriented by such disparities. Simply solve each question
type on its own terms.
Paired Passage Questions
Every SAT Reading test will feature ONE Paired Passage (either History or one of the Science readings).
These linked passages may agree with or build upon one another, though with some regularity they present
contrasting or conflicting perspectives on a single issue. Your task is NEVER to side with one author or the
other (even though some of the authors in the SAT History readings do put forward outdated and unappealing
opinions). Instead, you must understand how the passages relate to one another, and may need to draw logical
conclusions about how one author would respond to the other on the basis of the available evidence.
Like questions about visuals, questions that ask about both passages will normally occur near the end of a
question set. Note that it IS possible for a Paired Passage to be accompanied by visuals; in such a case, you
will need to coordinate a considerable amount of information when you reach the final questions.
Visuals Questions
On any given SAT Reading test, TWO passages (Social Studies and one of the Science readings) will be
accompanied by visuals or graphics. These visuals can be tables, graphs, charts, maps, or some combination.
You will need to deal with two or three Visuals questions per passage, and the questions will ask you to either
1) analyze visual information on its own terms or 2) analyze visual information while taking into account
information from the passage. Normally, questions about visuals will be the last items to accompany a passage.
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6
Introduction: SAT Reading Overview
Next Step: Diagnostic Test
Now that you know exactly what will appear on the SAT Reading section, put your skills to the test with the
fully-formatted Diagnostic section that begins on the next page. The best way to run this section is as follows.
•
Complete the section under the official 65-minute timing.
•
If you do not finish at the 65-minute mark, note how far you got, then complete your remaining questions.
•
Check your work using the Answer Key
•
Complete the Self-Evaluation Checklists
•
Consult the Answer Explanations that accompany the Answer Key
Of special importance here are the Self-Evaluation checklists. Even if you are working with a tutor, you
should be subjecting each SAT Reading section to rigorous examination to determine BOTH your strengths
and weaknesses. The checklists will help you to decide what areas of your approach should be preserved as
effective, and which ones require refinement or re-thinking.
•
Passage Types
•
Pacing and Timing
•
Question Types
•
Annotating the Passages
•
Vocabulary
•
Notes and Elimination for Questions
Additional copies of the checklists—which should be used well into your practice—are available online at
prepvantagetutoring.com/reading. Yet for the time being, see what the Diagnostic Test and a conscientious
self-analysis can teach you.
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7
1
1
Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table
or graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following
passage.
20
This passage is adapted from Anton
Chekhov, “The Grasshopper.” Published in
1892 and translated from the original Russian
in this version by Constance Garnett.
Line
5
10
15
25
Olga Ivanovna was twenty-two; Dymov
was thirty-one. They got on splendidly together
when they were married. Olga Ivanovna hung
all her drawing-room walls with her own and
other people’s sketches, in frames and without
frames, and near the piano and furniture arranged
picturesque corners with Japanese parasols, easels,
daggers, busts, photographs, and rags of many
colours . . . In the dining-room she papered the
walls with peasant woodcuts, hung up bark shoes
and sickles, stood in a corner a scythe and a rake,
and so achieved a dining-room in the Russian
style. In her bedroom she draped the ceiling and
the walls with dark cloths to make it like a cavern,
hung a Venetian lantern over the beds, and at
the door set a figure with a halberd. And every
one thought that the young people had a very
charming little home.
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30
35
40
8
When she got up at eleven o’clock every
morning, Olga Ivanovna played the piano or,
if it were sunny, painted something in oils.
Then between twelve and one she drove to her
dressmaker’s. As Dymov and she had very little
money, only just enough, she and her dressmaker
were often put to clever shifts to enable her to
appear constantly in new dresses and make a
sensation with them. Very often out of an old dyed
dress, out of bits of tulle, lace, plush, and silk,
costing nothing, perfect marvels were created,
something bewitching—not a dress, but a dream
. . . She sang, she played the piano, she painted
in oils, she carved, she took part in amateur
performances; and all this not just anyhow, but
all with talent, whether she made lanterns for an
illumination or dressed up or tied somebody’s
cravat—everything she did was exceptionally
graceful, artistic, and charming. But her talents
showed themselves in nothing so clearly as in her
faculty for quickly becoming acquainted and on
intimate terms with celebrated people. No sooner
did any one become ever so little celebrated, and
set people talking about him, than she made his
acquaintance, got on friendly terms the same
day, and invited him to her house. Every new
CONTINUE
1
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
1
acquaintance she made was a veritable fête* for
her. She adored celebrated people, was proud of
them, dreamed of them every night. She craved
for them, and never could satisfy her craving. The
old ones departed and were forgotten, new ones
came to replace them, but to these, too, she soon
grew accustomed or was disappointed in them,
and began eagerly seeking for fresh great men,
finding them and seeking for them again. What
for?
Between four and five she dined at home with
her husband. His simplicity, good sense, and
kind-heartedness touched her and moved her up
to enthusiasm. She was constantly jumping up,
impulsively hugging his head and showering
kisses on it.
“You are a clever, generous man, Dymov,” she
used to say, “but you have one very serious defect.
You take absolutely no interest in art. You don’t
believe in music or painting.”
“I don’t understand them,” he would say
mildly. “I have spent all my life in working at
natural science and medicine, and I have never
had time to take an interest in the arts.”
“But, you know, that’s awful, Dymov!”
“Why so? Your friends don’t know anything
of science or medicine, but you don’t reproach
them with it. Every one has his own line. I don’t
understand landscapes and operas, but the way
I look at it is that if one set of sensible people
devote their whole lives to them, and other
sensible people pay immense sums for them, they
must be of use. I don’t understand them, but not
understanding does not imply disbelieving in
them.”
“Let me shake your honest hand!”
After dinner Olga Ivanovna would drive off to
see her friends, then to a theatre or to a concert,
and she returned home after midnight. So it was
every day.
1
One of the important themes present in the passage
is that
A) pleasing conditions may nonetheless be
accompanied by desires that are impossible to
satisfy.
B) excessive wealth has a tendency to distort a
person’s priorities in ways that are difficult to
foresee.
C) people who frequently misunderstand one another
may still form close bonds.
D) the appearance of happiness can mask a craving
for fundamental changes.
2
The passage as a whole characterizes Olga as
A) earnest and inexperienced.
B) affectionate and extravagant.
C) sociable and energetic.
D) thoughtful and meek.
3
The first paragraph serves mainly to describe how
A) one character altered her surroundings in a
manner that met with approval.
B) one character assigned a series of meaningful
decisions to a second character.
C) one character reinvented a setting as an
expression of her unique personality.
D) two characters developed a collaborative method
for making improvements to their household.
*A pleasant occasion; a celebration or festivity
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CONTINUE
1
1
4
8
As used in line 25, “clever shifts” most nearly means
Dymov’s statement in line 72 (“Everyone . . . line”)
mainly functions as
A) practiced movements.
A) an elaboration of Dymov’s viewpoint.
B) resourceful decisions.
B) a reference to Olga’s past experience.
C) wise evasions.
C) an admission of a flaw in Dymov’s reasoning.
D) unexpected transitions.
D) a criticism of Olga’s friends.
5
9
As used in line 52, “fresh” most nearly means
Which choice best supports the idea that Dymov
values pursuits that he does not fully comprehend?
A) lively.
B) forthright.
A) Lines 66-68 (“I have . . . the arts”)
C) different.
B) Lines 70-72 (“Your . . . with it”)
D) sudden.
C) Lines 72-77 (“I don’t . . . use”)
D) Lines 77-79 (“I don’t . . . them”)
6
As described in the passage, Olga often reacts to
Dymov in a manner that can best be described as
10
The final sentence of the passage serves primarily to
indicate that
A) quietly sarcastic.
B) intensely admiring.
A) Olga is eager to make changes in her way of
living.
C) playfully uncomprehending.
D) instinctively loyal.
B) the reader is meant to see the passage’s characters
as unwilling to change.
C) Dymov and Olga are not fully aware of the
psychological effects of their marriage.
7
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) the passage as a whole describes a predictable
lifestyle.
A) Lines 23-27 (“As Dymov . . . them”)
B) Lines 56-58 (“His . . . enthusiasm”)
C) Lines 58-60 (“She was . . . on it”)
D) Line 80 (“Let me . . . hand!”)
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CONTINUE
1
1
Questions 11-20 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from Deanne
Dunbar, “Country Food Sharing in
the Canadian Arctic: Does It Feed the
Neediest?” Originally published* in 2018 in
Worth a Thousand Words.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
About 750 Inuit call Kangiqsujuaq (Nunavik,
Canada) on Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula their
remote, arctic home. Because there are no roads
to their community, the Kangiqsujuarmiuts hunt,
fish, and forage for most of their food. Arctic
char, caribou, and seal account for about 58% of
total meat intake in the village and are considered
“country foods.” The sale of country foods is
prohibited by the land claim agreement in the
region. Therefore, a Kangiqsujuarmiut must be
able to harvest these foods individually or access
them through a food-sharing network.
Historically, indigenous populations in
the difficult subsistence environments of the
Arctic have had strong social norms around the
sharing of food. However, exactly how food
sharing networks facilitate the flow of resources
throughout the community has not been well
studied. Over the next 30 years, climate models
suggest that coastal erosion and melting sea ice
will have major impacts on food security in this
region by disrupting the availability of and access
to the traditional Inuit dietary staples. Therefore,
it is important to understand how food sharing
buffers modern hunter-gatherer populations like
the Kangiqsujuarmiut from climate change risk.
To shed light on these questions, anthropologist
Elspeth Ready from the University of NebraskaLincoln spent a year in Kangiqsujuaq examining
the size, quality, and density of the food sharing
networks of 109 households in the village. She
asked each to list its most important food
sharing partners, measured household harvest
production over the year (in kilocalories), and
calculated household wealth by counting the
number of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, cars/
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
*See Page 36 for the citation for this text.
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11
trucks, fishing boats, and freighter canoes owned
by the household.
From the data collected, Ready was able to
construct a food sharing network model for the
community, composed of 500 unique ties among
109 households of varying harvest levels. She
found a mean of 4.54 ties per household for both
giving and receiving, although ties per household
ranged from 0 to 32 ties for giving and 0 to 16 ties
for receiving. Interestingly, households that had
more out-going food sharing ties also had more
incoming ties. In fact, giving away food was the
strongest predictor of a large network size.
The ability of Inuit households to participate
in food harvesting activities is highly dependent
upon access to land, cash, and equipment as well
as individual harvesting knowledge, interest, and
ability. Villagers who cannot access land or do not
harvest food on their own—such as single women
with dependents and elders—had the largest food
sharing networks in the village. However, single
women’s networks were of slightly lower quality,
and were comprised of fewer ties to high harvest
households. Surprisingly, the main driver of
food sharing behavior in Kangiqsujuaq was not
“trickle-down” sharing, whereby those with lower
wealth or harvest production receive food from
higher harvest households. Instead, Ready found
that reciprocity and kinship ties between high
harvest households were the principal driver for
food-sharing. The study results therefore suggest
that households with lower wealth and harvest
production may also be less able to access country
foods through sharing networks.
Ready’s important research sheds light on
how, why, and when food sharing networks
buffer households from resource shocks. If
food resources do not “trickle-down” through
sharing networks to households in need, this
may mean that low resource households will be
more vulnerable to changes in food availability
associated with climate change. In 2013-2014,
41% of Kangiqsujuarmiut had low or very low
food security. Poverty and food insecurity are
serious social problems in Kangiqsujuaq that may
only be partially addressed by traditional food
CONTINUE
1
85
90
1
sharing institutions. In the coming years, this
remote northern community will see additional
challenges that promise to impact the dynamics
of food sharing networks—climate change,
population growth, health transitions, and further
integration with the cash economy. Ready’s study
offers a critically important lesson: traditional
food sharing institutions may not buffer the most
vulnerable members of indigenous communities
against climate-based challenges to subsistence
resources, despite a strong regional ethic of
mutual aid.
12
Which choice best indicates that Ready’s work on
food networks in Kangiqsujuaq had few effective or
meaningful precedents?
A) Lines 16-19 (“However . . . studied”)
B) Lines 23-26 (“Therefore . . . risk”)
C) Lines 39-41 (“From . . . community”)
D) Lines 71-73 (“Ready’s . . . shocks”)
13
11
The main purpose of the passage is to
One important phase of Ready’s study relied upon
A) propose a new method for addressing a problem
faced by a traditional community.
A) open-ended interviews with Kangiqsujuarmiut
community leaders.
B) survey the advantages and drawbacks of the
methods utilized by an important researcher.
B) data directly recorded and provided by various
households in Kangiqsujuaq.
C) offer an overview of an anthropological study and
present a few implications of the research.
C) comparison of worldwide climate change models
and statistics from Kangiqsujuaq.
D) examine how research involving one community
can yield broad insights about traditional food
sharing.
D) investigation of dietary changes in the most
prominent Kangiqsujuaq households.
Individuals Per Group
Number of Individuals Per Group, Four Food-Sharing Tiers
40
30
20
10
0
0-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
Number of Food-Sharing Ties
Incoming Ties
Outgoing Ties
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12
CONTINUE
1
1
14
18
As used in line 53, “individual” most nearly means
The final paragraph of the passage mainly describes
A) liberated.
A) a series of additional research possibilities
suggested by Ready’s completed work.
B) eccentric.
B) a presumed weakness in Ready’s methods that
has since proven to be one of her study’s
strengths.
C) isolated.
D) personal.
C) a social arrangement that has proven valuable but
that does not guarantee prosperity or stability.
15
D) a series of conversations related to current
economic practices in Kangiqsujuaq.
On the basis of the passage, a Kangiqsujuarmiut with
a vast food-sharing network is most likely to
A) withhold assistance from the community’s most
prosperous households.
19
B) treat food-sharing as a charitable rather than a
pragmatic activity.
According to the chart, which of the following groups
would represent the largest number of individuals?
C) store excess food in anticipation of hardship.
A) 0-20 Incoming Ties
D) donate food to other households on a regular
basis.
B) 0-20 Outgoing Ties
C) 21-30 Incoming Ties
D) 21-30 Outgoing Ties
16
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
20
One of the factors that is explicitly addressed in
Ready’s study as described the passage but NOT in
the accompanying graph is
A) Lines 48-49 (“In fact . . . size”)
B) Lines 54-57 (“Villagers . . . village”)
C) Lines 60-64 (“Surprisingly . . . households”)
A) a given household’s incoming ties.
D) Lines 73-78 (“If food . . . change”)
B) a given household’s outgoing ties.
C) the role of gender in food-sharing networks.
D) the role of local political influence in food sharing
networks.
17
As used in line 82, “addressed” most nearly means
A) denounced.
B) acknowledged.
C) lessened in severity.
D) described in detail.
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13
CONTINUE
1
1
Questions 21-30 are based on the
following passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Bigger
human brain prioritizes thinking hub—at a
cost.” Published by the National Institutes of
Health* in May 2018.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
Some human brains are nearly twice the size of
others—but how might that matter? Researchers
at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
and their NIH grant-funded colleagues have
discovered that these differences in size are related
to the brain’s shape and the way it is organized.
The bigger the brain, the more its additional area
is accounted for by growth in thinking areas of
the cortex, or outer mantle—at the expense of
relatively slower growth in lower order emotional,
sensory, and motor areas.
This mirrors the pattern of brain changes seen
in evolution and individual development—with
higher-order areas showing greatest expansion.
The researchers also found evidence linking the
high-expanding regions to higher connectivity
between neurons and higher energy consumption.
“Just as different parts are required to scale-up
a garden shed to the size of a mansion, it seems
that big primate brains have to be built to different
proportions,” explained Armin Raznahan, M.D.,
Ph.D., of the NIMH Intramural Research Program
(IRP). “An extra investment has to be made in the
part that integrates information—but that’s not
to say that it’s better to have a bigger brain. Our
findings speak more to the different organizational
needs of larger vs. smaller brains.”
Raznahan, P.K. Reardon, Jakob Seidlitz, and
colleagues at more than six collaborating research
centers report on their study incorporating brain
scan data from more than 3,000 people in Science.
Reardon and Seidlitz are students in the NIH
Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program.
To pinpoint how the human brain’s
organization varies in relation to how big it
is, the researchers—including teams from the
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, as
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80
*See Page 36 for the citation for this text.
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14
well as the Douglas Mental Health University
Institute, Verdun, Québec—analyzed magnetic
resonance imaging brain scans of youth from
the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a
NIMH IRP sample, and the Human Connectome
Project.
Cortex areas showing relatively more
expansion in larger brains sit at the top of
a network hierarchy and are specialized
functionally, microstructurally, and molecularly at
integrating information from lower order systems.
Since this theme holds up across evolution,
development, and inter-individual variation,
it appears to be a deeply ingrained biological
signature, Raznahan suggested.
“Not all cortex regions are created equal. The
high-expanding regions seem to exact a higher
biological cost,” explained Raznahan. “There’s
biological ‘money’ being spent to grow that
extra tissue. These regions seem to be greedier
in consuming energy; they use relatively more
oxygenated blood than low-expanding regions.
Gene expression related to energy metabolism is
also higher in these regions. It’s expensive, and
nature is unlikely to spend unless it’s getting a
return on its investment.”
Since people with certain mental disorders
show alterations in brain size related to genetic
influences, the new cortex maps may improve
understanding of altered brain organization in
disorders. The higher expanding regions are also
implicated across diverse neurodevelopmental
disorders, so the new insights may hold clues to
understanding how genetic and environmental
changes can impact higher mental functions.
“Our study shows there are consistent
organizational changes between large brains and
small brains,” said Raznahan. “Observing that
the brain needs to consistently configure itself
differently as a function of its size is important for
understanding how the brain functions in health
and disease states.”
“Notably, we saw the same patterns for scaledup brains across three large independent datasets,”
noted Seidlitz.
CONTINUE
1
1
21
24
The passage as a whole describes a study that
In describing his research, Raznahan makes use of
A) overturned a scientifically plausible yet ultimately
flawed approach to classifying brains based on
size.
A) emphatic language that hints that earlier
researchers were misguided.
B) anecdotes and recollections that make his ideas
more accessible to a large audience.
B) uncovered data that will help to correct popular
misconceptions intellect, memory, and brain size.
C) an analogy that helps to explain a neurological
process central to his inquiry.
C) used psychological research to arrive at a new set
of procedures for treating neurological disorders.
D) general statements that are meant to spur
meaningful debate.
D) established connections between factors such as
brain size, energy expenditure, and cognitive
ability.
25
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
22
On the basis of the passage, the research pursued by
Raznahan and his colleagues is premised on the idea
that
A) Lines 23-25 (“An extra . . . brain”)
B) Line 54 (“Not all . . . equal”)
C) Lines 56-58 (“There’s . . . tissue”)
A) the structure of the human brain is radically
different from the structure of the brain of any
other animal.
D) Lines 74-76 (“Our study . . . brains”)
B) large brain size correlates to both higher cognitive
ability and shorter lifespan.
26
C) organisms of the same species can exhibit
significant differences in brain size.
The main purpose of lines 28-44 (“Raznahan . . .
project”) is to
D) animal species that don’t rely on physical strength
for survival normally develop relatively large
brains.
A) suggest that specialized research such as
Raznahan’s is nonetheless easy to comprehend.
B) underscore the wide-ranging and cooperative
nature of Raznahan’s project.
C) show the ways in which the project led by
Raznahan built upon earlier efforts.
23
As used in line 7, “additional” most nearly means
D) explain the benefits of a multi-disciplinary
approach to neurological science.
A) substitute.
B) sequenced.
C) superfluous.
D) supplementary.
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15
CONTINUE
1
1
27
29
What does the passage indicate about the “Cortex
areas” mentioned in line 45?
As used in line 70, “implicated” most nearly means
A) Their size as a proportion of body mass is fairly
consistent across species that have successfully
adapted to changes in environmental conditions.
B) significant.
A) secondary.
C) suggestive.
D) submissive.
B) Their size can be indirectly measured by
administering intelligence exams to test subjects.
C) They are less dense and more fragile than are
other areas of the brain.
30
Which of the following findings would most clearly
CONTRADICT the primary findings of the study
described in the passage?
D) They exhibit higher energy consumption than do
other areas of the brain.
A) The quickest-growing areas of the brain can take
over functions often assigned to slower-growing
areas.
28
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) The typical neurodevelopmental disease renders
the brain completely incapable of growing or
changing.
A) Lines 50-53 (“Since . . . suggested”)
B) Lines 58-60 (“These regions . . . regions”)
C) The regions of the brain that govern higher-order
thinking can experience unusually high growth
rates in the brains of subjects who have
psychological disorders.
C) Lines 69-71 (“The higher . . . disorders”)
D) Lines 81-83 (“Notably . . . Seidlitz”)
D) The growth of brain regions related to analysis
and problem solving can lead to impaired
physical coordination.
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16
CONTINUE
1
1
Questions 31-41 are based on the
following passages.
30
Passage 1 is adapted from a speech on the
Compromise of 1850 delivered by Senator
Henry Clay of Kentucky; Passage 2 is from
a speech on the same issue delivered by
Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina.
The Compromise itself was designed to
deal with a series of nationwide tensions
involving slavery. Under the terms of this
measure, some of which were perceived as
placing the states of the American South at
a disadvantage, California was allowed to
enter the Union as a free state.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
35
40
45
Passage 1
In all such measures of compromise, one
party would be very glad to get what he wants,
and reject what he does not desire but which the
other party wants. But when he comes to reflect
that, from the nature of the government and its
operations, and from those with whom he is
dealing, it is necessary upon his part, in order
to secure what he wants, to grant something to
the other side, he should be reconciled to the
concession which he has made in consequence
of the concession which he is to receive, if there
is no great principle involved, such as a violation
of the Constitution of the United States. I admit
that such a compromise as that ought never to
be sanctioned or adopted. But I now call upon
any senator in his place to point out from the
beginning to the end, from California to New
Mexico, a solitary provision in this bill which is
violative of the Constitution of the United States.
The responsibility of this great measure passes
from the hands of the committee, and from my
hands. They know, and I know, that it is an awful
and tremendous responsibility. I hope that you
will meet it with a just conception and a true
appreciation of its magnitude, and the magnitude
of the consequences that may ensue from your
decision one way or the other. The alternatives,
I fear, which the measure presents, are concord
and increased discord . . . I believe from the
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
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55
60
65
70
17
bottom of my soul that the measure is the reunion
of this Union. I believe it is the dove of peace,
which, taking its aerial flight from the dome of
the Capitol, carries the glad tidings of assured
peace and restored harmony to all the remotest
extremities of this distracted land. I believe
that it will be attended with all these beneficent
effects. And now let us discard all resentment, all
passions, all petty jealousies, all personal desires,
all love of place, all hankerings after the gilded
crumbs which fall from the table of power. Let
us forget popular fears, from whatever quarter
they may spring. Let us go to the limpid fountain
of unadulterated patriotism, and, performing a
solemn lustration, return divested of all selfish,
sinister, and sordid impurities, and think alone of
our God, our country, our consciences, and our
glorious Union—that Union without which we
shall be torn into hostile fragments, and sooner or
later become the victims of military despotism or
foreign domination . . .
Passage 2
It is time, senators, that there should be an
open and manly avowal on all sides as to what
is intended to be done. If the question is not now
settled, it is uncertain whether it ever can hereafter
be; and we, as the representatives of the States of
this Union regarded as governments, should come
to a distinct understanding as to our respective
views, in order to ascertain whether the great
questions at issue can be settled or not. If you who
represent the stronger portion, can not agree to
settle them on the broad principle of justice and
duty, say so; and let the States we both represent
agree to separate and part in peace.
If you are unwilling we should part in peace,
tell us so; and we shall know what to do when you
reduce the question to submission or resistance.
If you remain silent, you will compel us to
infer by your acts what you intend. In that case
California will become the test question. If you
admit her under all the difficulties that oppose her
admission, you compel us to infer that you intend
to exclude us from the whole of the acquired
Territories, with the intention of destroying
CONTINUE
1
75
80
85
1
irretrievably the equilibrium between the two
sections. We should be blind not to perceive
in that case that your real objects are power
and aggrandizement, and infatuated, not to act
accordingly.
I have now, senators, done my duty in
expressing my opinions fully, freely, and candidly
on this solemn occasion. In doing so I have been
governed by the motives which have governed
me in all the stages of the agitation of the slavery
question since its commencement. I have exerted
myself during the whole period to arrest it, with
the intention of saving the Union if it could be
done; and if it could not, to save the section where
it has pleased providence to cast my lot.
33
Clay’s reference to the “limpid fountain” (line 42)
serves primarily to
A) introduce an allusion to language contained in the
Constitution.
B) emphasize Clay’s willingness to take a principled
yet unpopular stance.
C) signify virtues that Clay urges his audience to
prioritize.
D) return to and extend a metaphorical reference
presented earlier.
34
31
In Passage 1, Clay explains that the Constitution is
As used in line 48, “fragments” most nearly means
A) the first and most important manifestation of an
American radiation of cooperation and
negotiation.
A) flakings.
B) features.
C) factions.
B) a feature of national life that should be respected
in the formulation of political compromises.
D) figments.
C) a document that was once thought divisive but
has come to be held in universally high regard.
35
D) a source of guidance that may be modified as a
result of ongoing deliberations.
As used in line 57, “distinct” most nearly means
A) incompatible.
B) proudly-expressed.
32
C) unconnected.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) well-defined.
A) Lines 1-4 (“In all . . . wants”)
B) Lines 13-15 (“I admit . . . adopted”)
C) Lines 15-19 (“But I . . . United States”)
D) Lines 31-37 (“I believe . . . effects”)
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18
CONTINUE
1
1
36
39
Calhoun explains that California serves as a “test
question” (line 69) because
On the basis of Passage 1, Clay would argue that the
option described by Calhoun in lines 59-63 (“If you
. . . peace”) is
A) the people of California have embraced a
viewpoint similar to Calhoun’s but have been
slighted by the federal government.
A) motivated by a cynical stance on national politics.
B) currently impossible though previously viable.
B) responses to the situation in California will prove
useful in distinguishing ideological systems that
had once seemed to overlap.
C) unrealistic given the options that face the Union.
D) bizarre given what Clay sees as a universal
attempt at reconciliation.
C) events in California are the most dramatic
manifestation of a political conflict that has
appeared in more subtle forms.
40
D) how the case of California is handled will allow
him to gauge whether his interests face goodwill
or hostility.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 20-22 (“The responsibility . . hands”)
B) Lines 23-25 (“I hope . . . magnitude”)
37
C) Lines 27-29 (“The alternatives . . . discord”)
The final paragraph of Passage 2 indicates that
Calhoun’s priority has been to
D) Lines 37-40 (“And now . . . power”)
A) promote the interests of his state even if such
interests harm the Union.
41
B) preserve the Union if such a goal is feasible.
One of the important rhetorical differences between
Clay’s discussion in Passage 1 and Calhoun’s
discussion in Passage 2 is that
C) re-define the idea of the Union in a manner more
acceptable to the South.
D) warn that crisis over the Union seems inevitable.
A) Clay uses collective references to promote
cooperation, while Calhoun directly addresses a
group that may not be in sympathy with him.
38
B) Clay explains his own expertise to lend credibility
to his argument, while Calhoun professes faith in
the judgment of his audience.
Passage 1 and Passage 2 both serve the purpose of
A) encouraging decisive action during a time of
potential conflict.
C) Clay does not consider possible arguments
against his position, while Calhoun carefully
analyzes the most popular cases against his
stance.
B) convincing an audience that is believed to be
indecisive.
C) critiquing misguided ideas about the Union.
D) Clay assumes that his ideas represent the will of
the nation, while Calhoun explains that his ideas
are intentionally provocative.
D) prompting debate on whether individual states
should remain within the Union.
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19
CONTINUE
1
1
Questions 42-52 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from “Red Nuggets
Are Galactic Gold for Astronomers,” an
article posted by NASA.gov* in July of 2018.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
About a decade ago, astronomers discovered
a population of small but massive galaxies
called “red nuggets.” A new study using NASA’s
Chandra X-ray Observatory indicates that
black holes have squelched star formation in
these galaxies and may have used some of the
untapped stellar fuel to grow to unusually massive
proportions.
Red nuggets were first discovered by the
Hubble Space Telescope at great distances from
Earth, corresponding to times only about three
or four billion years after the Big Bang. They are
relics of the first massive galaxies that formed
within only one billion years after the Big Bang.
Astronomers think they are the ancestors of the
giant elliptical galaxies seen in the local Universe.
The masses of red nuggets are similar to those of
giant elliptical galaxies, but they are only about a
fifth of their size.
While most red nuggets merged with other
galaxies over billions of years, a small number
managed to slip through the long history of the
cosmos untouched. These unscathed red nuggets
represent a golden opportunity to study how the
galaxies, and the supermassive black hole at their
centers, act over billions of years of isolation.
For the first time, Chandra has been used to
study the hot gas in two of these isolated red
nuggets, MRK 1216, and PGC 032873. They are
located only 295 million and 344 million light
years from Earth, respectively, rather than billions
of light years for the first known red nuggets. This
X-ray emitting hot gas contains the imprint of
activity generated by the supermassive black holes
in each of the two galaxies.
“These galaxies have existed for 13 billion
years without ever interacting with another
of its kind,” said Norbert Werner of MTA-
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*See Page 36 for the citation for this text.
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20
Eötvös University Lendület Hot Universe and
Astrophysics Research Group in Budapest,
Hungary, who led the study. “We are finding that
the black holes in these galaxies take over and the
result is not good for new stars trying to form.”
Astronomers have long known that the material
falling towards black holes can be redirected
outward at high speeds due to intense gravitational
and magnetic fields. These high-speed jets can
tamp down the formation of stars. This happens
because the blasts from the vicinity of the black
hole provide a powerful source of heat, preventing
the galaxy’s hot interstellar gas from cooling
enough to allow large numbers of stars to form.
The temperature of the hot gas is higher in
the center of the MRK 1216 galaxy compared to
its surroundings, showing the effects of recent
heating by the black hole. Also, radio emission
is observed from the center of the galaxy, a
signature of jets from black holes. Finally, the
X-ray emission from the vicinity of the black
hole is about a hundred million times lower than
a theoretical limit on how fast a black hole can
grow—called the “Eddington limit”—where the
outward pressure of radiation is balanced by the
inward pull of gravity. This low level of X-ray
emission is typical for black holes producing jets.
All these factors provide strong evidence that
activity generated by the central supermassive
black holes in these red nugget galaxies is
suppressing the formation of new stars.
The black holes and the hot gas may have
another connection. The authors suggest
that much of the black hole mass may have
accumulated from the hot gas surrounding both
galaxies. The black holes in both MRK 1216 and
PGC 032873 are among the most massive known,
with estimated masses of about five billion times
that of the Sun, based on optical observations
of the speeds of stars near the galaxies’ centers.
Furthermore, the masses of the MRK 1216 black
hole and possibly the one in PGC 032873 are
estimated to be a few percent of the combined
masses of all the stars in the central regions of the
galaxies, whereas in most galaxies, the ratio is
about ten times less.
CONTINUE
1
1
Number of Black Holes and Red Nuggets in the Milky Way
75
75
50
50
25
25
0
-12
Billion
Years
-9
Billion
Years
-6
Billion
Years
Black Holes
Red Nuggets
-3
Billion
Years
Present
Day
Red Nuggets
100
Black Holes (Million)
100
0
The double lines for each type of object
represent minimum and maximum estimates.
42
44
Over the course of the passage, the author’s focus
shifts from
As used in line 23, “unscathed” most nearly means
A) a point of puzzlement regarding the formation of
red nuggets to the resolution of this uncertainty.
B) intact.
A) uncorrupted.
C) unquestioned.
B) different perspectives on the relationship between
black holes and red nuggets to an extended
discussion of red nuggets.
D) safe.
C) an account of outer space exploration to new
protocols for black hole detection.
45
According to the passage, “hot gas” is significant to
researchers because
D) the basic properties of red nuggets to a series of
observations regarding black holes.
A) it is one of the few forms of matter that can
escape a black hole.
43
B) its presence can be understood as a sign of black
hole activity.
As used in line 5, “formation” most nearly means
C) it has been instrumental in the formation of
several identified red nuggets.
A) alignment.
B) institution.
D) its emission can help a black hole to overcome
the “Eddington Limit” under some circumstances.
C) generation.
D) patterning.
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21
CONTINUE
1
1
46
48
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 27-29 (“For the . . . PGC 032873”)
A) Lines 36-38 (“These . . . kind”)
B) Lines 32-35 (“This . . . galaxies”)
B) Lines 44-47 (“Astronomers . . . fields”)
C) Lines 41-43 (“We are . . . form”)
C) Lines 56-58 (“Also . . . black holes”)
D) Lines 58-62 (“Finally . . . grow”)
D) Lines 74-78 (“The black holes . . . centers”)
47
49
According to the passage, which of the following
was NOT one of the main findings of the study led by
Norbert Werner?
The ideas about “black holes and hot gas” that are
outlined in the final paragraph of the passage are best
understood as
A) An individual black hole can grow larger by
siphoning energy or material that could otherwise
generate stars.
A) plausible but not entirely verified.
B) simultaneously imaginative and practical.
C) widely-accepted yet deeply problematic.
B) Star formation can be impeded by the presence of
a black hole.
D) completely proven though still disputed.
C) The massiveness of some black holes may be
traced directly to interactions involving hot gas.
D) A magnetic field can deflect matter away from a
black hole.
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22
CONTINUE
1
1
50
52
According to the graph, at what point is there the
greatest difference between the minimum estimate
and the maximum estimate for the number of black
holes in the Milky Way?
Does the graph provide support for the trend indicated
by the “new study” (line 3) as described in the first
paragraph of the passage?
A) Yes, because the graph provides persuasive
evidence that red nuggets often disintegrate to
become black holes.
A) 9 billion years ago
B) 6 billion years ago
B) Yes, because the graph supports the author’s point
that red nuggets are relatively difficult to detect
and study.
C) 3 billion years ago
D) the present day
C) No, because the graph does not provide any direct
or relevant information about the sizes of
individual black holes.
51
On the basis of the passage, one possible cause for the
decrease in the number of red nuggets over time, as
indicated in the graph, could be
D) No, because the graph suggests that the number
of black holes has expanded because black holes
have grown less massive over time.
A) the transformation of individual red nuggets into
multiple black holes.
B) the complete disintegration of red nuggets into
hot gas.
C) the combination of red nuggets with other
galaxies.
D) the detonation of red nuggets that are drawn into
black holes.
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section.
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23
Answer Key: Diagnostic
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
Passage 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
A
C
A
B
C
B
B
A
C
D
C
A
B
D
D
A
C
C
D
C
D
C
D
C
C
B
D
B
B
B
Question Types
Major Issue
1-2, 11, 13, 21-22, 42
Passage Details
3, 8, 10, 18, 26, 30, 33, 36-37, 49
Command of Evidence
6-7, 9, 12, 15-16, 24-25, 27-28, 31-32, 45-48
Word in Context
5-6, 14, 17, 23, 29, 34-35, 43-44
Graphics and Visuals
19-20, 50-52
Passage Comparison
38-41
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
24
B
B
C
C
D
D
B
A
C
C
A
D
C
B
B
B
D
B
A
D
C
C
Self-Evaluation
Checklist for the Diagnostic Test
Passage Types
•
Hardest Readings ________________________ ; ________________________
•
Easiest Readings ________________________ ; ________________________
Sources of Difficulty
(Check all that apply.)
____ Comprehending Main Idea (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Remembering Passage Details (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Working with Style and Vocabulary (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
Question Types
•
Major Issue:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Passage Details: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
C. of Evidence:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Word in Context: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
Sources of Difficulty
____ Understanding the Question
____ Locating or Analyzing Evidence
(Check all that apply.)
____
Predicting the Answers____ Eliminating False Answers
Vocabulary
•
New Words: ______________________________________________________________________
•
Total Questions with Advanced Vocabulary ____
Number Right ____
Number Wrong ____
Overall Strategy
•
Time Per Passage (Estimate): 1 ____
•
Total Time for the Test ____
•
Passages with Note-Taking ____
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
•
Passages with NO Notes
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
____
2 ____
3____
Time Left Over ____
Sources of Difficulty ____ Slow Reading or Rereading
(Check all that apply.)
____ Inaccurate Annotations
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25
4 ____
5 ____
OR Time Needed Beyond 65 Minutes ____
____ Complicated or Time-Consuming Notes
____ Rushed Through Passages or Questions
Answer Explanations
Diagnostic, Pages 8-23
Passage 1, Pages 8-10
1. A is the correct answer.
The passage describes how Olga leads a pleasant and enjoyable life, but the narrator also states that “She
craved for [well-known people], and never could satisfy her craving” (47-48). This content best supports A.
B can be eliminated as illogical, since Olga and her husband are not wealthy, while C can be eliminated since
the passage indicates that Olga and her husband do misunderstand each other on one occasion but NOT that
they frequently misunderstand each other. Be careful not to choose D, since Olga does seem both happy on
the surface and dissatisfied underneath; HOWEVER, the passage does not indicate that she seeks fundamental
change, just constant variety.
2. C is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on how Olga leads a busy life that revolves around many different social interactions.
This content best supports C. Be careful not to choose B, since while the passage does describe how Olga
is very affectionate with her husband, it does NOT depict her as extravagant; rather, Olga is described as
carefully stretching a limited budget for her clothing. A (which presents a faulty negative) and D (which goes
against the depiction of Olga as outgoing) can both be eliminated since they present descriptions at odds with
Olga’s representation as skilled, sociable, bubbly, and playful.
3. A is the correct answer.
The first paragraph describes how Olga sets up her household, and concludes with the statement that “every
one thought that the young people had a very charming little home” (16-18). This content best supports A. B
and D can be eliminated since the passage does NOT focus on Dymov specifically assigning the decorating
decisions to Olga, or on the two of them making these decisions together. C is a trap answer, since the passage
focuses on Olga but does NOT specify that Olga’s decorating decisions specifically reflect her personality.
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26
Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
4. B is the correct answer.
In line 25, “clever shifts” refers to how Olga and her dressmaker are able to create beautiful clothes even
though they have few resources to work with. Choose B to reflect this content. Do not choose A, since it does
not capture the meaning of their decisions being a response to scarcity; C can also be eliminated, since Olga’s
primary purpose is not avoidance or evasion. Do not choose D, since Olga and her dressmaker are accustomed
to these strategies, and do not have to formulate them unexpectedly.
5. C is the correct answer.
In line 52, “fresh” refers to “great men” desired by Olga and thus means new or distinct from the individuals
Olga already knows as part of her social circle. B can be eliminated, since Olga is interested in meeting
individuals whom she does not know, not in the specific personalities of those individuals; this answer choice
also raises the context of directness or honesty, NOT of novelty. A (indicating energy) and D (indicating
something that is rapid or surprising) can be eliminated as introducing similarly inappropriate contexts.
6. B is the correct answer.
In lines 56-58, the passage describes how Dymov’s “simplicity, good sense, and kind-heartedness touched
[Olga] and moved her up to enthusiasm.” She also tells him that he is “a clever, generous man” (line 61). This
content best supports B. A and C can both be eliminated as illogical, since Olga (whose characterization is
often positive) does NOT demonstrate sarcastic or uncomprehending behavior in the passage. Be careful not
to choose D, since she displays affection for but NOT necessarily loyalty to her husband.
7. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A focuses on how and why Olga
and her dressmaker must be resourceful with the clothing budget, while C describes the physical affection that
Olga shows towards her husband. D involves a playful comment that Olga makes to him. None of these other
answers reflect the admiration she shows towards him, and all should be rejected.
8. A is the correct answer.
In line 72, Dymov explains why he is not bothered by the fact that he is not knowledgeable about the arts.
He rationalizes that people have different interests and areas of specialization. This comment functions as an
extension of his viewpoint; choose A. Both C and D can be dismissed, since the comment shows that Dymov
is calm and accepting in his viewpoint, not critical or admitting fault. B can be dismissed since Dymov is
mainly interested in explaining a present opinion, NOT in any direct reference to past experience.
9. C is the correct answer.
In lines 72-77, Dymov explains that he personally does not understand or value artistic pursuits, but that he
recognizes that other people devote their lives to these pursuits, and therefore he assumes that such endeavors
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
have value. This comment shows him demonstrating respect for activities that he does not understand; choose
C. A explains why he has not had time to learn about the arts, and what he spends his time on instead; in B, he
explains how he does not hold the ignorance of other people against them when they are not knowledgeable
about the areas which interest him. D focuses on the distinction between failing to understand something
and failing to respect it. None of these other answers show that Dymov values activities that he does not
understand, and all should be rejected.
10. D is the correct answer.
The passage ends with a sentence showing that the couple’s routine takes a predictable form every day; choose
D to support this idea. Be careful not to choose B, since the passage does NOT clarify whether the couple is
resistant to change, or just has no reason to make lifestyle alterations. A directly contradicts the positive and
mostly accepting tone that is applied to Olga’s lifestyle throughout the passage; C would require a critique of
the main characters or an extensive depiction of Dymov’s thought processes, and neither feature is present in
the passage.
Passage 2, Pages 11-13
11. C is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on contextualizing the anthropological research conducted by Elspeth Ready, and then
describes the methodology and findings of this research. The final portion of the passage discusses some
implications from the research. Choose C to support this content. Be careful not to choose B, since Ready is
NOT explicitly positioned as an important researcher, nor does the passage focus on evaluating the merits of
her research (as opposed to simply presenting findings). A and D can also be dismissed, since the research
aims to explore existing practices, NOT to articulate a solution, or to generate widely applicable insights
(since a single community remains the focus).
12. A is the correct answer.
Lines 16-19 state that “exactly how food sharing networks facilitate the flow of resources throughout the
community has not been well studied.” These lines make it clear that Ready’s research was not preceded
by significant studies on the same topic; choose A. B focuses on the value of the insights to be gained from
conducting this type of research, while C focuses on how Ready conducted her research. D also describes
the insights generated by Ready’s research. None of these other answers explicitly discuss the lack of prior
existing research, and all should be rejected.
13. B is the correct answer.
Lines 31-33 describe how “[Ready] asked each [household] to list its most important food sharing partners,”
indicating that she used a research model in which data was directly provided by households in Kangiqsujuaq.
Choose B to reflect this content. A can be rejected since there is no mention of interviewing in Ready’s
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
research methodology, while C is illogical since no climate change statistics were collected in this community.
D represents an area of investigation (dietary changes, NOT changes in food exchange networks) that Ready
did not explore, and should be dismissed.
14. D is the correct answer.
In line 53, “individual” refers to the resources and knowledge held by a specific person. Choose D to reflect
this meaning. A (inappropriately implying a belief or attitude), B (inappropriately referring to personality),
and D (implying lack of connection rather than individual possession) all introduce improper contexts and
should thus be eliminated.
15. D is the correct answer.
Lines 48-49 state that the giving away of food was an indicator of large network size; this situation indicates
that someone with a large network would be likely to give away food on a regular basis, and that D is the
correct answer. A, B, and C can all be rejected, since there is no discussion in the passage of food donation
being correlated to household wealth or treated as a form of charity, nor is there mention of storing excess
food; instead, Ready’s research primarily links food sharing to social connections and family ties.
16. A is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. B describes the categories of
people who held the largest food sharing networks, while C suggests a plausible hypothesis which the research
ultimately did not support. D describes a possible implication from the findings of the research. None of these
answers directly describe a typical behavior for someone who possesses a large food-sharing network.
17. C is the correct answer.
In line 82, “addressed” refers to the action of institutions that set out to solve problems, and thus means
improved or ameliorated by; choose C to support this meaning. A (inappropriately implying condemnation),
B (implying only recognition but not improvement), and D (implying description rather than improvement)
all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
18. C is the correct answer.
The passage concludes with a paragraph describing how traditional food sharing networks may not be sufficient
to counter increasing sources of strain and food instability, especially for low-income individuals. Choose C
to support this content. A and B can both be dismissed, since the conclusion does NOT focus on weaknesses
in the research or on future research possibilities. D can also be dismissed since it characterizes the final
paragraph as presenting conversation, which should NOT be confused with analysis of different groups from
the author’s own perspective.
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
19. D is the correct answer.
The chart indicates that close to 40 individuals have between 21-30 outgoing food ties, and that this is the
largest of all the groups. Choose D to reflect this content. A, B, and C can all be dismissed since the numbers
of individuals who possess either 0-20 incoming or outgoing food ties and the number of individuals who
possess 21-30 incoming food ties are all lower in comparison.
20. C is the correct answer.
Ready’s research determined that gender, as demonstrated by the role of “single women” (line 55), is a factor
in food-sharing networks; however, this factor is NOT documented in the graph. Choose C to reflect this
configuration of content. A and B can both be dismissed since they describe factors which ARE documented
in the graph, while D describes a factor that is not directly present in the passage: “political influence” is not
necessarily identical to the community factors that Ready does address, such as kinship and social ties.
Passage 3, Pages 14-16
21. D is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on describing how brain size is connected to factors like energy expenditure and
cognitive ability. Choose D to reflect this content. Be careful not to choose A or B, since the passage does
NOT focus on countering or correcting prior beliefs about the implications of brain size. C can be dismissed
since neurological disorders, though a secondary topic, are not the primary focus of the passage.
22. C is the correct answer.
As the first lines of the passage state, humans exhibit a wide range of different brain sizes. This premise creates
an opportunity to conduct research in order to explore the significance of those different ranges. Choose C to
reflect this content. B can be rejected since it represents a perspective explicitly rejected by the researchers
quoted in the passage. A can also be eliminated, since the discussion of human brains is contextualized within
wider discussions about primate brains, implying that human brains are comparable to these other brains.
D can also be dismissed as being outside the scope of the passage, since brain structure itself (NOT the
relationship between brain size and physical strength) is the author’s focus.
23. D is the correct answer.
In line 7, “additional” refers to area taken up by a “bigger” brain and thus means “extra” or “more”. Choose D
to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying an alternative), B (inappropriately implying a particular
order), and C (implying a lack of value) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
24. C is the correct answer.
In lines 56-58, Raznahan uses an analogy in which he compares the extra biological resources necessary
to develop high-growth brain regions to money. This analogy is important because it allows Raznahan to
effectively explain a process that is central to his research study; choose C to reflect this content. Be careful
not to choose B, since this analogy is more specific than the general inclusion of anecdotes and recollections.
A and D can also be dismissed, since the passage is NOT clearly negative towards earlier researchers in a
manner that indicates the necessity of debate or criticism.
25. C is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A focuses on preventing a
reader from making an incorrect inference, while B offers a distinction between different parts of the brain
by using straightforward language. D concisely summarizes the key findings of the study. Since none of these
other answers includes an analogy, they can all be dismissed.
26. B is the correct answer.
Lines 28-44 describe the scope of the study, the collaborators involved, and where the findings were published.
This content emphasizes that the study involved a large sample size and collaborators from different institutions
and locations; choose B to reflect this information. Be careful not to choose D, since the project is described
as collaborative but NOT necessarily multi-disciplinary. A and C can also be dismissed since these lines do
NOT discuss either the connection between this work and previous studies or the accessibility of the findings.
27. D is the correct answer.
Lines 58-60 indicate that cortex regions require high levels of energy, provided in the form of oxygenated
blood. Choose D to reflect this content. B and C are both outside the scope of the passage, since neither the
relative fragility of different regions nor the use of intelligence exams are discussed directly. A can also be
dismissed since there is no discussion of correlating cortex size to body size in the passage.
28. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A explains how certain traits of
cortex regions remain consistent, while C describes a connection between high-expanding cortex regions and
some neurological disorders. D focuses on an important factor that supports the validity of the findings. Since
none of these answers discuss how cortex regions consume more energy, they can all be dismissed.
29. B is the correct answer.
In line 70, “implicated” refers to brain regions linked to disorders and thus means “involved in” or “associated
with”. Choose B to reflect this meaning. A (implying inferiority), C (inappropriately implying a subtle, indirect
connection), and D (implying subordination) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
30. B is the correct answer.
The study described in the passage found that larger and smaller brains showed consistent patterns in
how the available brain space was organized, and that high-growth brain regions are often implicated in
neurodevelopmental disorders. Findings that neurodevelopmental diseases rendered brains incapable of
changing or growing would contradict these implications; choose B as the correct answer. C does not contradict
the study’s findings, since it would be expected for individuals experiencing brain disorders to show unusually
high rates of growth. It would also be plausible for fast-growing regions to take over functions from slowergrowing regions, and for the growth of some regions to lead to impairment in areas governed by other regions;
therefore, neither A nor D contradicts the primary findings.
Passage 4, Pages 17-19
31. B is the correct answer.
In lines 13-15, Clay states that he does not believe that any compromise that violates the Constitution should
ever be adopted. This idea suggests that he believes that the Constitution is something to be respected and
accounted for whenever political compromises are proposed; choose B to support this content. Be careful
not to choose A because Clay does NOT represent the Constitution as the first example of a more extensive
tradition; C can also be eliminated, since Clay does NOT discuss whether views of the Constitution have
changed over time. D can be dismissed as an explicit contradiction of the point that Clay makes in his speech.
32. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A describes the goals and
aspirations of each party during negotiations for a compromise, while C asserts Clay’s confidence that the
proposed bill does not violate the Constitution. D describes the hope that he has for the positive consequences
of the bill. None of these other answers describe how Clay regards the Constitution.
33. C is the correct answer.
In line 42, Clay uses the metaphor of individuals washing in a fountain to describe his hope that his audience
will focus on the virtues of patriotism and set aside their conflicting desires to pursue compromise; choose
C to support this content. Be careful not to choose D, since the metaphor of a fountain is first introduced
here, NOT reintroduced from an earlier point. A can be dismissed since nothing signals that this language is
intended to echo the Constitution (despite the positive tone in both cases), while B can be rejected as requiring
inference outside the scope of the passage, since nothing signals that Clay’s point of view is unpopular.
34. C is the correct answer.
In line 48, “fragments” refers to divided or disconnected groups of individuals. Choose C to reflect this
meaning. A (inappropriately implying a physical substance), B (inappropriately referring to elements or
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
aspects), and D (implying something imagined or unreal) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be
eliminated.
35. D is the correct answer.
In line 57, “distinct” refers to “respective” views that Calhoun aims to distinguish and thus means specified or
clear. Choose D to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying conflict or discord), B (inappropriately
referring to how something is described or represented), and C (implying something unrelated) all introduce
improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
36. D is the correct answer.
Calhoun explains that he sees actions around how the situation with California is handled as determining
whether or not he and his allies are being treated fairly and transparently. Choose D to reflect this content.
Be careful not to choose C, since Calhoun does NOT position California as the most dramatic example of an
ongoing conflict. A can be dismissed since no mention is made of the perspective of the Californian people
in this debate, while B contradicts the passage’s content suggesting that existing ideological systems are
distinctive and conflicting, NOT overlapping.
37. B is the correct answer.
In the final paragraph, Calhoun states that “I have exerted myself during the whole period to arrest it, with
the intention of saving the Union if it could be done” (84-87), a statement which suggests that he hoped to
preserve the Union. Choose B to support this content. Dismiss A as contradicting what Calhoun explicitly
states as his intention, while C can be dismissed as unsupported by evidence, since Calhoun does NOT discuss
renegotiating the terms of Union. D can be eliminated since the passage is intended to describe a crisis that is
already occurring, NOT to warn of an impending one.
38. A is the correct answer.
In Passage 1, Clay urges his audience to render the Compromise legally binding, thereby securing peace and
stability; in Passage 2, Calhoun urges an explicit rejection of the Compromise in order to clarify positions
on the questions of slavery and slave-owning. Both of these passages encourage decisive action; choose A to
support this content. Be careful not to choose B, since the rhetoric of persuasion does NOT necessarily assume
that the audience is indecisive. C and D can both be rejected as answers that contradict Clay’s positive ideas
about the Union in Passage 1: his primary goal is to call attention to the importance of preserving the Union,
not to delve into the perspectives of his antagonists in a manner that spurs debate.
39. C is the correct answer.
In lines 27-29, Clay argues that the proposed compromise will prevent further antagonism from dividing
those who support and those who challenge slavery. This position suggests that he believes that animosity
and conflict are inevitable unless a compromise is reached, and would not believe Calhoun’s suggestion of a
peaceful separation to be feasible. Choose C to support this content. Be careful not to choose B, since nothing
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
in the passage suggests that Clay previously believed this option to be viable, and has now changed his mind.
A (which mostly reflects negatively on Calhoun’s character) and D (which overstates the extent of Clay’s
optimism about a solution) can also be eliminated, since they are both unsubstantiated by the passages.
40. C is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A describes the decision-making
stage at which the proposed Compromise has arrived, while B describes the gravity and scope of the decision
to be made about the Compromise. D focuses on the attitudes and feelings that Clay hopes his audience will
be able to set aside. None of the other answers illustrate why Clay sees Calhoun’s proposal as unrealistic, and
all should be rejected.
41. A is the correct answer.
In Passage 1, Clay urges an audience of people who may possess diverse opinions about slavery to put aside
differing interests in order to act for mutual benefit by adopting the Compromise. In Passage 2, Calhoun urges
those who do not support slavery to openly admit to their perspective so that there can be transparency and
fair dealings. Given the authors’ differing aims of fostering collaboration and responding to an unsympathetic
group, choose A. B can be dismissed since Clay does NOT provide evidence of relevant expertise, while C
can be rejected because Calhoun does not carefully engage with counter-arguments. D can also be eliminated
since Calhoun never signals that he means to offer deliberately provocative ideas, even though his stance may
strike some readers as divisive.
Passage 5, Pages 20-23
42. D is the correct answer.
The passage begins by defining red nuggets and describing their main qualities. The focus then shifts to
discussing black holes as one element of a situation involving red nuggets. Choose D to support this content.
B can be eliminated since it describes a progression that reverses the actual structure of the passage, while
A is incorrect because the focus of the passage is description, NOT the resolution of a previously uncertain
question. C is illogical because the passage does NOT focus on methods for detecting black holes, even
though black holes are of high interest.
43. C is the correct answer.
In line 5, “formation” refers to the activity of stars that have the potential to appear in a physical form that can
be “squelched” and thus means emergence or “generation” (as in creation or growth). Choose C to support
this content. A (inappropriately implying balance or agreement), B (inappropriately referring to a system
or structure being put in place), and D (implying design or decoration) all introduce improper contexts and
should thus be eliminated.
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
44. B is the correct answer.
In line 23, “unscathed” refers to “untouched” red nuggets and thus means unchanged or undamaged. Choose
B to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying a moral situation), C (inappropriately referring to an
idea or philosophy going unchallenged), and D (implying security and protection) all introduce improper
contexts and should thus be eliminated.
45. B is the correct answer.
Lines 32-35 describe how hot gas provides an indication of black hole activity, implying that this relationship
reveals one reason that hot gas is of interest to researchers. Choose B to support this content. Be careful not
to choose C, since hot gas is linked to activity within one aspect of red nuggets but NOT necessarily to red
nugget formation. A and D can both be dismissed as illogical, since hot gas is neither described as something
escaping a black hole nor discussed in relation to the Eddington limit.
46. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A focuses on how new technology
has allowed for hot gas to be studied, while C summarizes the findings of a particular study. D describes the
measurements of some specific black holes. None of these other answers explain why hot gas is important to
researchers, and therefore all should be dismissed.
47. D is the correct answer.
In lines 44-47, the author notes that astronomers have been aware of the effect of magnetic fields on matter
interacting with black holes for a long time. This information indicates that this knowledge was NOT discovered
in Werner’s research. Choose D to support this content. A, B, and C all involve content which reflects new
conclusions emerging from Werner’s studies, and thus CONTRADICT the question requirement.
48. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A describes the long period in
which red nugget galaxies have existed without interacting with each other, while C focuses on a characteristic
that appears to signal the presence of a black hole at a particular location within the galaxy. D describes the
mass of these galaxies by comparing such mass to that of the Sun. None of these other answers describe
findings that preceded Werner’s research, and therefore all should be eliminated.
49. A is the correct answer.
The information described in the final paragraph of the passage is best characterized as a plausible hypothesis
that has not yet been fully confirmed, since the author calls attention to situations that “may” (lines 70 and
72) be valid on the basis of research findings. Choose A to support this content. Be careful not to choose C or
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Answer Explanations, Diagnostic Test
D, since the information is NOT discussed in terms of whether it is accepted, problematic, or disputed within
the scientific community, but simply as well-supported by a particular study. B can also be eliminated since
the information reflects a description of scientific phenomena which is not intended to be either imaginative
or practical.
50. D is the correct answer.
The graph shows the difference between the minimum and maximum estimate of the number of black holes in
the Milky Way (indicated by two dotted lines) steadily increasing over the past 3 billion years and reaching its
peak difference in the present day. Choose D to support this content. A and B can be rejected since at 9 billion
and 6 billion years ago the difference between minimum and maximum was relatively small, with little change
occurring between these two time points. C can be rejected since 3 billion years ago the difference was larger
but still not as large as it is shown to be for the present day.
51. C is the correct answer.
Lines 20-21 describe how “most red nuggets merged with other galaxies over billions of years.” This theory
is reflected in the graph, which shows the total number of red nuggets declining over time. Choose C to
support this content. A and B can be rejected, since nothing in the passage indicates that red nuggets tend
to transform into individual black holes or disintegrate into hot gas. D can be dismissed as illogical since it
describes content that does not align with the relationship between black holes and red nuggets described in
the passage, since the passage indicates that black holes impede star formation in red nugget galaxies, NOT
that black holes cause red nuggets themselves to explode or detonate..
52. C is the correct answer.
The “new study” described at the start of the passage hypothesizes that the presence of black holes within red
nugget galaxies has limited star formation and led to the growth of the black holes themselves. The chart only
documents trends in the number of red nuggets and black holes, not information about the sizes of either or
about the number of stars, and therefore does not support the findings of the new study. Choose C to reflect
this content. A and B can both be eliminated since they suggest that the chart DOES support the findings of
the study, while D can be eliminated because the chart only shows fluctuations in the number of black holes
and does NOT provide any information about their masses.
NOTES
•
Passage 2 on Pages 11-12, “Country Food Sharing in the Canadian Arctic: Does It Feed the Neediest?” is adapted from the article of the same
name published by the PLOS Blogs network. 10 May 2018, Worth a Thousand Words. https://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2018/05/10/countryfood-sharing-canada/. Accessed 3 November 2018.
•
Passage 3 on Page 14, “Bigger human brain prioritizes thinking hub—at a cost.,” is adapted from the article of the same name published
by the National Institutes of Health. 31 May 2018, NIH. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/bigger-human-brain-prioritizesthinking-hub-cost. 3 November 2018.
•
Passage 5 on Page 20, “Red Nuggets Are Galactic Gold for Astronomers,” is adapted from the article of the same name that appeared on
nasa.gov. 21 June 2018, NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/red-nuggets-are-galactic-gold-for-astronomers.html. 3
November 2018.
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Part 1
Main Issue
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 1
Main Issues in the Passage
Passage Types
As explained in the introductory portions of this book (pages 3-7), the SAT Reading section will ALWAYS
feature five passages that break down into fairly predictable passage types. This chapter is designed to show
you the fundamentals of how to read the passages, understand their content, and answer the various “big
picture” questions that accompany the readings.
For now, the emphasis will be single passages, since paired passages follow a format that requires its own
set of specialized strategies. The first passage on every SAT Reading test, however, will normally be a single
passage. This passage will also normally be a work of narrative fiction.
Fiction: Classic and Contemporary
In order to master the Fiction element of the SAT Reading section, you must be prepared to read, comprehend,
and analyze classic fiction from the early 19th to the early 20th century. However, more recent works will also
appear. In fact, literature readings from later in history have become increasingly common. Both the tests in
the Official SAT Study Guide and the most recent College Board tests are, arguably, dominated by relatively
recent fiction.
All of these readings do have a few traits in common, despite in some cases being initially published several
decades apart. Each one can be roughly described as a sample of “realism”—a piece of literature that attempts
to portray human society and psychology as they really are. Each one also has well-defined characters. Some
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
official SAT readings do mention various side characters in quick succession, yet close reading of even these
passages will reveal clear specifics—family status, age, occupation, personality traits, or some combination—
for each individual designated.
You can safely assume that many of the Fiction passages that you will see on the SAT will have the following
characteristics.
1. An emphasis on realistic or at least plausible social structures, ways of thinking, and everyday events
2. Characters whose roles and identities are clearly explained, often with a focus on one or two main
perspectives
3. Little or no content (controversies in politics or religion, or depictions of violence, drug use, or
sexuality) that would be considered controversial
4. Little or no experimentation with prose form (fragments, bizarre time jumps, unexplained fantastical or
surreal elements) that might disorient a reader
For the most part, the Fiction passages that you will read have a high probability of being selected from the
works of various social, psychological, and occasionally satirical writers. There is some chance that you may
read a portion of a work that has adventure or science fiction elements—for instance, part of a work by H.G.
Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, or Kurt Vonnegut—so long as these elements do not make the passage unduly
difficult to comprehend. After all, authors from the 19th century to the present often combined outlandish
motifs with realistic character portraits that would be, on the basis of past tests, appropriate to the SAT.
But there is almost NO chance that you will read a passage heavy on content that a reader—any reader at
all—would find deeply offensive or upsetting. Even death scenes are mostly off-limits in SAT readings, to say
nothing of the potentially controversial content noted above. A passage may of course be taken from a larger
work with politically-charged, even disturbing themes; among the authors who have appeared on administered
SATs, both Nikolai Gogol and Philip Roth are in fact famous for addressing such content. However, it is
highly unlikely that a literature reading will address dark, disturbing content head-on. There are few test prep
precedents for doing so, and with good reason. The risk of distracting from the test, and of alienating a large
group of test-takers, is simply too great.
For a different reason, you can also safely assume that the SAT will present nothing truly bizarre in terms
of perspective, structure, or vocabulary. The 20th century was a time of outlandish experimentation with
prose form, and the 21st century continues to be an era of structural and stylistic innovation in fiction of all
genres. Still, you will probably not need to deal with anything comparable to the dreamlike monologues of
Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, the fusion of scriptwriting and prose of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and
the Damned, or the PowerPoint-inspired vignettes of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. You MAY,
of course, need to deal with more approachable passages of first-person or third-person realism from these
authors.
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
As you read through SAT Fiction selections, try to clarify any given passage by determining the following
elements with as much clarity as possible.
1. Major characters and how they relate to one another
2. Conflicts, motives, or goals apparent in the text
3. Passage structure, including any important changes or shifts (tone, action, revelations)
While you work through the passages, you must also keep in mind the following guidelines.
1. DO NOT evaluate or interpret what you are reading
2. DO NOT bring in any outside knowledge
Remember, each Reading question that you will confront is PURELY evidence-based. You should be finding
important ELEMENTS of the passage as you read—elements that will give you strong comprehension for
these questions—not creating independent ideas or value judgments of your own.
If you feel that you can work with the Fiction passages without ANY risk of distracting yourself from the
fundamentals of evidence, details, and comprehension, you might also look for some of the following elements
as you read.
1. Themes and Messages (built into or clearly articulated in the passage)
2. Significant or Recurring Phrases, Details, or Images
The danger with these issues is that, in your present English courses, you may be used to analyzing themes,
phrases, or images in a manner that involves interpretation. You CANNOT do this, under any circumstances,
on the SAT. Any themes or significant details will be themselves extremely clear from a literal comprehension
of the passage’s evidence. No interpretive flights are necessary: just go with what the narrator directly states
about WHY the passage’s significant portions are significant.
To perform the task of breaking down each SAT Fiction passage with the highest possible precision and
efficiency, confront important reading comprehension issues one by one. The following checklist addresses
important matters that can appear in virtually ANY passage.
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40
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Fiction Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Important Characters
Character 1: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 2: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 3: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 4: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Overall Issues
Setting: _________________________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Themes: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________
3. _____________________ 4. _____________________
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41
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
How to Use the Checklists
Each SAT Reading passage has its own UNIQUE checklist, which is designed to reflect the
type of content that naturally occurs in the specific passage type.
1. As you begin your practice, NOTE the passage features that each checklist gives you.
These features will help you to answer the Main Issue questions that occur, most often, as
the first few questions after the passage.
2. As much as possible, UNDERLINE content that is related directly to checklist items,
especially important individuals and important shifts.
3. As your practice progresses, READ for the checklist features and note them independently.
Of course, you will not have the checklists to help you on the actual SAT, but you will have
the METHODS that the checklists have helped you to absorb.
The Fiction checklist will help you to achieve clarity and to locate useful information REGARDLESS of
whether you are reading an excerpt from a relatively old (late 1700s to early 1900s) or a relatively new (early
1900s to present) work of fiction. Each type, however, has its own challenges.
Classic Fiction (late 1700s to early 1900s)
1. Stylistic Challenges (tendency towards long, intricate sentences; some especially tough vocabulary)
2. Tonal Challenges (emotions, attitudes, and ironies that are difficult to see at a glance)
3. Information-Based Challenges (shifts to new characters and shifts in emphasis)
Newer Fiction (early 1900s to present)
1. Perspective-Based Challenges (roughly even split between first-person and third-person readings)
2. Coherence-Based Challenges (absence of one main perspective; absence of an extremely clear theme)
The purpose of your read-through of the passages is to glean as much important information as you POSSIBLY
can. Indeed, the checklists will help you to clarify some issues (tone, theme). Still, you must make sure NOT
to over-think an issue if it is not clearly evident in the passage, especially for those issues (again, tone and
theme) that present special risks of over-interpretation. In addition, if you cannot find information for one of
the checklist categories, do NOT fill the category in. (The passage may not have the relevant information in
the first place.) The trick is to run every Fiction passage, regardless of historical era or authorial style, through
the same predictable and precise method, without distorting the passage itself.
To see how this process works, read through the passage on the next page, and complete its checklist.
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42
Exercise 1.1
Questions 1-4 are based on the following
Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Saachika
Reddy, “Winter Orchids” (2017).
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Another Wednesday arrived, and with it
another not-quite-self-consciously resplendent
message from Monsieur Tremblay. Avni followed
along as his prose, after alighting on the briefest
yet warmest of greetings, swept off over the
autumny tundras of Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
tentatively returned back to inspect the contents of
a few curiously dog-eared volumes in Monsieur
Tremblay’s book collection, and finally settled
down in the grotto-like eateries and slow-falling
dusks of Old Montreal. As always, it was hard
to say where distant recollection ended and the
more recent past began. Monsieur Tremblay’s
narrations, in sweeping over so much space,
seemed to find it necessary to suspend time; the
acrobatics of moving so deftly from sight to sight
allowed no time to pause for the necessary when
and how of a more mundane account. His words
suspended both the dull mechanics of travel—the
waits, the rides, the rain, the headaches—and the
threatening absurdity of trying to commit any
rich thought to e-mail. Somehow, thought Avni,
Monsieur Tremblay restored dignity to a medium
that had none of the inherent dignity of pen and
ink.
Then, as an anticlimax, there would be a
perfectly unimportant and perfectly edited
business letter attached. “For your review, please
find . . . ” the message would conclude, and Avni
would—as a matter of habit—ask herself yet
again why Monsieur Tremblay and his Henry
James*-ian command of English required a
proofreading service.
Whether writing provided Monsieur Tremblay
a refuge or whether he poured out his experiences
in mulled bronze prose out of a sort of compulsion
was impossible, even now, for Avni to determine.
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From the headshot, resume, and questionnaire
answers in his client profile she had deduced
everything she could; she had constructed an
image of this diminutive 50-year-old wandering
around Prince Edward Island and twining together
the serpentine sentences of his next letter. Yet she
knew nothing of why he wrote like this, why he
wrote at all. Wouldn’t it be enough to have these
transcendent thoughts all to oneself?
Avni thought it would be. To have a world such
as Monsieur Tremblay’s all to oneself would be
enough. In such a place, needling messages from
one’s brother and mother would have no way to
pierce through. Her mother was the more direct of
the two, and should have been the more irksome:
Avni had received dozens of e-mails with links to
marketing jobs and research fellowships. “Perhaps
you should look at this” and “This one looks
interesting” had become interchangeable with her
mother’s presence. Avni’s response was always
indifference. Her brother didn’t send “helpful”
e-mails, for his part. Instead he called at strange
hours and asked Avni a series of harmless day-today questions, though the worry and annoyance in
his voice were both unmistakable to her. Beneath
an inquiry about an unimportant movie would be
the thought, “Are you still just patching together
part-time work, really, seriously?” Beneath a
remark about an election that neither of them
cared about would be the sentiment, “Please, find
something to do, a real job. I’m not saying this
to insult you. I’m saying this because I have an
MBA and you have a PhD, and only one of us is
making good on these facts.” Avni would want to
sigh the loudest possible sigh of relief at the end
of each of these conversations. She was not trying
to convince him of anything at this point, and she
had won enough arguments with herself to feel
convinced that she was in the right, that the $18
per hour she made as a proofreader was a measure
of so few of the things that made life worthwhile.
*Henry James (1843-1916): American novelist and critic
famous for the complex imagery and syntax of his writing
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43
CONTINUE
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Fiction Checklist
Practice Exercise 1.1
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Important Characters
Character 1: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 2: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 3: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 4: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Overall Issues
Setting: _________________________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Themes: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________
3. _____________________ 4. _____________________
CONTINUE TO ANSWER
PASSAGE QUESTIONS 1-4
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44
Exercise 1.1
3
1
Which of the following statements summarizes a
theme present in the passage?
The passage primarily depicts
A) a central character who finds unexpected parallels
in her memories of antagonistic characters.
A) Education frequently leads to self-doubt.
B) a central character who has decisive emotional
responses to various other characters.
B) Inspiring narratives are most often written in
obscurity.
C) a group of characters who offer guidance and
compassion to a conflicted central character.
C) Professional recognition and material wealth do
not correlate with satisfaction.
D) two characters who have formed an emotional
bond despite mutual misunderstandings.
D) Family members will embrace conflict if they feel
that doing so will strengthen their bonds.
4
2
In relation to Avni, Monsieur Tremblay can best be
described as
Over the course of the passage, the narration as a
whole shifts from
A) a confidante who reaches out to Avni in the
expectation that her responses will intensify their
friendship.
A) recording a typically pleasing experience to
explaining interactions that are informed by
tension.
B) an acquaintance who has disregarded professional
formalities order to better cultivate Avni’s sense
of imagination.
B) pointing out the fundamental similarities between
two characters to explaining why these characters
are seen as outsiders.
C) a colleague who tactfully urges Avni to take a
proactive and individualistic approach to life.
C) surveying a set of unlikely ambitions to analyzing
why those same goals are regarded as
disreputable.
D) a contact whose detailed communication with
Avni does not fulfill a pressing practical purpose.
D) conveying the impact of a single transformative
moment to showing how the same moment later
resulted in disillusionment.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 72.
Do not turn to any other section.
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45
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Social Studies
In terms of time period, the Social Studies passages that appear on the SAT represent a departure from the
Fiction selections: so far, most of the Social Studies content has been taken from the relatively recent past.
You can expect to see articles that deal with contemporary urban life, public health, popular communications
platforms, and present-day trends in journalism. While consistently designed to address 21st-century problems
in a rigorously evidence-based manner, Social Studies passages regularly return to a few core topics: the
psychology of decision-making, population and cultural studies, economics, marketing, ethics, and the media.
What you will NEVER see in the Social Studies passages are topics that are blatantly or divisively political.
As with all sections of the SAT Reading, discussions of material—religious debates, partisan arguments,
sexuality, substance abuse—that could offend a large group of test-takers are strictly off-limits. Keep in mind,
though, that issues such as impassioned political agendas and stances may be addressed in passing.
In general, Social Studies passages will call upon your ability to sort through different perspectives and
evidence-based studies—some of which may build upon one another, some of which may be in complete
disagreement. There are a few natural starting points for your analysis. Keep these in mind, but keep in mind
as well that the questions may depend on fine points of passage details and passage transitions.
Topic, Sources, and Positions
There is one feature of Social Studies passages that, in the right circumstances, can make the entire reading
experience move along in a wonderfully predictable manner. For Fiction passages, reading the blurb that
introduces a given reading can be helpful (since the Fiction blurbs can clarify character and plot points), but
is not always essential (since the titles, for this passage type, can be puzzling and may not be accompanied by
further information). However, for Social Studies AND for Science passages, try to make a habit of reading
the short introductory content. The reason will soon become obvious.
ALWAYS read Social Studies and Science blurbs
since passage titles often indicate TOPIC and MAIN IDEA
This approach is helpful, but is not a complete giveaway—since you will STILL need to read the passage
thoroughly in order to understand how the topic, dilemma, or debate at hand is being investigated. What you
should do is keep the title in mind and use it to orient your reading.
Consider the titles that appeared in the Diagnostic test, for both Social Studies and Science.
•
“Country Food Sharing in the Canadian Arctic: Does It Feed the Neediest?”
•
“Bigger human brain prioritizes thinking hub—at a cost”
•
“Red Nuggets Are Galactic Gold for Astronomers”
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46
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
On their own, these titles are most helpful for helping you to understand what kinds of topics (local economics,
neuroscience, astronomy) are being addressed. To make the best possible sense of such topics, you will need
to ask the right questions as your reading moves along: how a process referenced in the title works, why
a specific idea indicated in the title is important, whether a theory contained in the title is valid. The foodsharing article gives an obvious instance. Quite simply, does food sharing feed the neediest? Your reading of
the article should return an answer of some sort to this question.
Of course, passage titles do not have a perfect track record of pointing readers towards key passage information,
and some of them may be too short or too cryptic to be particularly useful. You may need to work through a
Social Studies passage entirely on its own terms. Knowing what to look for, in this case, is key—and, often
enough, you will need to work through a few different types of information related to a key topic area.
As you read, stay alert for the following types of information.
1. Key Sources (named experts, institutions, or the author himself or herself)
2. Key Pieces of Evidence (statistics, quotations, studies, experimental outcomes)
3. Key Perspectives (common beliefs, new explanations, proposals, criticisms)
Some of these pieces of information may be quite closely related; in fact, the Social Studies checklist integrates
a few of them, since you should work as much as possible to trace evidence and perspectives BACK to key
sources. You should also keep in mind that how these elements are combined can vary considerably from
passage to passage. Some Social Studies readings will present you with several viewpoints or studies that
conflict with one another, while other readings in this category will focus on meticulously-described individual
experiments—sometimes devoting almost all of the discussion to a single research project.
Notice, though, that so far you have not been called upon to weigh in on a potentially important element for
any SAT Social Studies reading: the passage’s thesis. The reason, here, is that the thesis will NOT occur in a
single predictable place. Drawing hasty conclusions about a passage’s viewpoint—even when the title seems
like a giveaway—can do more harm than good. However, once you have worked through a passage’s key
pieces of information, you will be ready to discern what kind of a thesis the passage possesses.
Working with the Thesis
The central question with the thesis of any Social Studies passage is how strong, exactly, the author’s position
is. Some authors will be highly opinionated; others may simply be recording results or viewpoints. Think in
terms of the following questions.
•
Does the author present a single side of an issue or multiple sides?
•
Does the author take a strong tone towards any side, or instead avoid bias?
•
Does the author endorse or set forward a theory, or instead remain ambivalent or uncertain?
Note that an author may shift topic, tone, or degree of certainty considerably. These are the issues that you
should use the Social Studies checklist, and the sample activity that follows, to clarify as you move forward.
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47
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Social Studies Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Overall Content
Core Topic or Question: ________________________________________
Source/Study 1: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 2: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 3: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Author: ________________; Position: ___________________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Thesis: _____________________________________________________
Conclusive: __ or Inconclusive: __ and WHY: ______________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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48
Exercise 1.2
Questions 5-8 are based on the following
Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Game
Corrects Children’s Misreading of Emotional
Faces to Tame Irritability,” a 2016 Science
Update article posted* by the National
Institute of Mental Health.
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A computer game that changes a tendency to
misread ambiguous faces as angry is showing
promise as a potential treatment for irritability in
children. The game shifts a child’s judgment for
perceiving ambiguous faces from angry to happy.
In a small pilot study, irritable children who
played it experienced less irritability, accompanied
by changes in activation of mood-related brain
circuitry. Researchers are now following up with a
larger study to confirm its effectiveness.
Melissa Brotman, Ph.D., Ellen Leibenluft,
M.D., Joel Stoddard, M.D., of the NIMH Emotion
and Development Branch, and colleagues,
reported on findings of their pilot study of
“interpretation bias training” for child irritability
online on January 8, 2016 in the Journal of Child
and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.
About 3 percent of youth experience chronic
severe irritability. They are prone to temper
outbursts and are often in a grumpy mood. Parents
complain of having to “walk on eggshells”
to avoid unleashing verbal—and sometimes
physical—outbursts. These behaviors can lead to
problems with friends, with family, and at school.
While irritability is common in disorders
such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder, it is
a core feature of disruptive mood dysregulation
disorder (DMDD), which is associated with risk
for developing mood and anxiety disorders—and
socioeconomic underachievement later in life.
While research suggests that parent training,
psychotherapy, and some medications may
be helpful for severe irritability, there are no
established treatments for DMDD. Evidence
suggests that irritable youth with DMDD tend to
misperceive emotional expressions. Compared
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80
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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49
to healthy controls, children with DMDD were
more prone to rate ambiguous faces as angry. So
Leibenluft’s team set out to test interpretation
bias training (IBT), a computer game designed
to diminish irritable children’s tendency to view
ambiguous faces as angry.
Participants rated a continuum of 15
ambiguous faces appearing on a computer monitor
as either happy or angry. After computer training,
the children shifted their ratings toward seeing
some of these ambiguous faces as “happy.” This
effect was maintained for at least 2 weeks and was
associated with decreased irritability, as rated by
parents and by clinicians who interviewed both
parents and children.
Some of these DMDD participants also
performed a face-viewing task while their brain
activity was being measured by functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They
showed activity changes in emotional learning
areas suggesting that the computer-based training
may alter neural responses to emotional faces.
Encouraged by these findings, the researchers
have launched a larger, more controlled study
to learn whether IBT might be effective as
a treatment. They are also testing cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), a talk therapy that aims
to change behaviors in response to frustrating
events. These are among the first non-drug
interventions that seek to help those with DMDD.
Families with affected children can choose to
receive CBT alone, IBT alone, or IBT followed
by CBT. Those who elect IBT will perform most
computer training sessions at home, over the
course of a training program which can last from
3 to 13 weeks. Participants who are interested
in brain scanning will also undergo before-andafter fMRI scans while they are looking at the
same ambiguous faces presented in the training
sessions. The researchers hope these scans will
show changes in brain activity that relate to
symptom improvement following treatment.
“The training may be calming irritability by
altering circuit activity underlying interpretive
biases and—hopefully—reducing anger-based
reactions like outbursts,” said Leibenluft.
CONTINUE
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Social Studies Checklist
Practice Exercise 1.2
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Overall Content
Core Topic or Question: ________________________________________
Source/Study 1: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 2: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 3: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Author: ________________; Position: ___________________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Thesis: _____________________________________________________
Conclusive: __ or Inconclusive: __ and WHY: ______________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
CONTINUE TO ANSWER
PASSAGE QUESTIONS 5-8
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50
Exercise 1.2
7
5
On the basis of the passage, it can be reasonably
inferred that irritability in children
The main purpose of the passage is to
A) present experimental findings that could prove
useful in addressing irritability disorders.
A) may be treatable without the use of medications.
B) is not comparable to any condition observed
among adults.
B) describe how the scientific community as a whole
responded to single study of adolescent
irritability.
C) can become more severe as a result of exposure
to technology.
C) explain the origins and expected effects of
chronic severe irritability in adolescents.
D) is a direct outcome of specific parenting styles.
D) demonstrate that unusual patterns of brain activity
can be linked to aggressive tendencies.
8
The passage is written from the point of view of
6
A) a concerned citizen whose response to irritability
in children is based on personal experience.
Which choice best describes the developmental
pattern of the passage?
B) a researcher who wishes to promote constructive
changes to current pediatric practices.
A) A few different terms are explained and
an experiment that suggests new definitions is
documented.
C) an observer who possesses precise information
about therapeutic methods for children.
B) An approach to a psychological problem is
outlined and possible shortcomings are briefly
discussed.
D) a specialist in irritability disorders who aims to
institute a new system of classification.
C) An unconventional method is endorsed and
diverging perspectives on its future uses are
presented.
D) A specific technology is introduced and its
applicability to psychological problem is
examined.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 72.
Do not turn to any other section.
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51
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Natural Science
The two Science passages that appear on each SAT Reading section can be drawn from a variety of topics:
biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, and astronomy among them. In fact, passages that address
issues in psychology and technology—fields that may seem oriented towards Social Studies—are eligible to
appear under Natural Science. Keep in mind, also, that one graph WILL always appear and that one paired
passage MAY appear in this passage category.
Fortunately, the designated Science passages can be quite approachable at times. Although you may be
challenged to adapt to a new scientific concept, you will ALWAYS be given enough background information
to approach such content; as ever, outside knowledge may help but is not in any way a necessity. Moreover,
there will be relatively few stylistic difficulties. Because Science passages (unlike Fiction passages) are
almost always taken from the past 75 years—and often from the extremely recent past—the possibility of
encountering older-fashioned expressions and syntax decreases considerably.
Perhaps the most fortunate feature of Science passages, though, is their relative predictability in structure and
intent. Though there are certainly some exceptions, a typical Science passage will be devoted to a single welldefined area of inquiry that is addressed in the following format.
1. Inquiry or Issue Established
2. Experiment or Research Explained
3. Broader Outcomes Addressed (Applications, Problems, Debates, Future Inquiries)
In some cases, Science passages will break down into EXACTLY these stages, with one following the next
in an orderly fashion. In other cases, the different stages may be harder to discern—that is, until you learn to
identify and comprehend each stage with speed and efficiency.
Inquiry or Issue
Your first priority should be to determine what theory, fact, or problem in scientific inquiry the author has
chosen to address. This is in some ways a fairly straightforward task since 1) the TITLE can be extremely
informative in some cases and 2) the FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS can lay out a considerable amount of
information. Of course, there may be SAT passages that deal with main issues that are extremely complex,
that are elaborated over the course of rather long paragraphs, or that are accompanied by several counterexamples and counter-arguments. If you find yourself faced with such a passage, maintain high precision with
the following questions—which are relevant to ANY Science passage.
•
What information does the title provide? What ADDITIONAL questions does it raise?
•
What is the theory, idea, or assumed fact that is being evaluated in the passage? Is there an EXPLICIT
statement that defines the topic under investigation?
•
What factors COMPLICATE the main inquiry or issue? Are competing theories, explanations, or examples
mentioned anywhere?
52
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Once you have clarified these issues—whether by finding information provided by the author or by researchers
quoted in the article—you can easily move on to consider how, exactly, the investigations described in the
passage proceeded.
Experiment or Research
In some passages, “experiments” and “research” may seem loosely defined at best. Official SAT passages
have included informative and theoretical discussions of topics such as DNA and the Higgs boson particle; in
these cases, the authors provided overviews of major scientific issues. Still, passages that are walk-throughs of
specific experiments and research projects continue to dominate the test, and passages that deviate from this
classic format can still be approached using a similar method.
As you read any given Science passage, divide up information in terms of methods of inquiry. These are often
experiments, but can also be ideas or proposals (such as the nature of a molecule or a particle) that are given
some logical explanation. Be aware, also, that experiment-oriented passages may proceed in stages, with
two or even three related inquiries outlined one after another. Overall, try to think in terms of the following
questions for every method or mode of investigation present.
•
What idea or premise is this experiment, project, or line of reasoning meant to evaluate?
•
What are the fine points of design and execution for the research? Did the researchers meet any obstacles?
•
What are the immediate outcomes? Do they confirm or contradict any ideas—or lead to a new inquiry?
If you can think about immediate outcomes, you will also have a firm basis for considering the broad research
outcomes that, frequently, are addressed in the final stages of Science passages.
Broader Outcomes
The last few paragraphs of a Science passage will, with some regularity, broaden the topic outward. A variety
of new issues raised by the topic or research at hand may be considered, and some of the most common are
listed below.
•
Validation of an earlier theory
•
Proposal for a new or modified experiment
•
Contradiction of an assumed explanation
•
Intensification of a debate or dispute
•
Formulation of a new or improved theory •
Approval or agreement from the scientific community
•
Sources of continuing uncertainty
•
Dissent from a specific expert or a group of specialists
These issues may be raised by the author, by researchers quoted or described throughout the passage, or by
researchers who are quoted for the first time near the passage’s closing. Note also that some passages may
terminate WITHOUT raising broad issues such as these, or may raise them towards a midpoint. Your task is to
use your comprehension skills—and the checklist on the next page—to approach each passage on its unique
terms, as helpful as knowing the standard Inquiry/Research/Outcome format can be.
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53
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Science Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Inquiry or Issue
Core Topic: __________________ Core Question: __________________
Source 1: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Source 2: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Other Hypotheses: ____________________________________________
Research and Experiments
Method 1: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 1: __________________ Conclusion 1: ____________________
Method 2: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 2: __________________ Conclusion 2: ____________________
Broad Outcomes: _____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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54
Exercise 1.3
Questions 9-12 are based on the following
Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Charlotte
Bhaskar, “A New Fossil Lace Bug with
Unusual Antennae Joins the ‘Big’ Club.”
Originally published* in 2015 in Worth a
Thousand Words.
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35
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Have you ever seen a lace bug? Don’t let
their pretty name fool you—even though they’re
dainty as a doily, they’re tough little bugs. You
may have encountered lace bugs in your garden or
on houseplants, since they’re herbivorous sapdrinkers. Though they only feed on plants, their
bite can sting!
Named for their translucent delicate wings,
little lace bugs make up the big family Tingidae
within the order Hemiptera. Currently, there are
over 2100 species of lace bugs living all over
Earth. This globetrotting goes way back: Places
as diverse as the Dominican Republic, Paris, and
Myanmar all have amber deposits containing lace
bug fossils from millions of years ago.
Most recently, as described in a study in PLOS
ONE, scientists found four male lace bugs in the
Eocene Green River Formation, a group of basins
with exceptional fossil deposits in Colorado, Utah,
and Wyoming.
These fossilized lace bugs are unusual for their
remarkable preservation and flashy golf clubshaped antennae.
Their unusual antennae led the authors to
suspect that they had a totally new species of lace
bug on their hands. It can be difficult to categorize
a new species, though—especially when looking
at fossils. Time renders DNA, proteins, and other
biological material low quality, making it often
impossible to use common genetic or molecular
tools.
Using phylogenetic analysis, which enables
researchers to look at evolutionary links between
organisms to determine relationships between
ancestors and descendants, the authors were still
able to assess the relationship of these fossils with
other living and fossilized Tingidae species. In
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*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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this case, instead of using genetic material, the
authors compared physical characteristics of these
fossils with other known Tingidae specimens.
The results of this detective work? The
authors classified these fossils as a new species,
Gyaclavator kohlsi. Since it’s hard to miss the
antennae on these guys, the authors constructed
their genus name from a combination of the terms
Gyas, who was a mythical giant from the Aeneid,
and clavator, Latin for “club.”
The authors of this study suspect Gyaclavator’s
showy antenna may be a rare fossil example
of a visual display structure that could have
played a role in mate attraction. In other words,
Gyaclavator might have used its antennae like
a male peacock uses its striking tail feathers: to
advertise its appeal as a capable, healthy mate.
The authors also speculate that Glaclavator
may have used its antennae as part of male-male
competition, in the same way that male deer fight
over resources using their antlers. Scientists have
not found any other examples of lace bugs from
the present or past that have features like these
spectacular antennae.
However, other Hemiptera members do
show similar enlarged physical structures akin
to Gyaclavator’s fancy antennae. Some species
of leaf-footed bugs from the Coreidae family,
for example, have large, petal-shaped antennae
segments. They wave their conspicuous antennae
through the air as part of a display that seems to
function both in courtship as well as male-male
competition.
It seems possible that Gyaclavator may have
used its specialized antennae in a similar fashion,
though it’s hard to say for certain. Whatever
function Gyaclavator’s club-shaped antennae
performed, it’s clear this little lace bug marched to
the beat of its own drum.
CONTINUE
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Science Checklist
Practice Exercise 1.3
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Inquiry or Issue
Core Topic: __________________ Core Question: __________________
Source 1: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Source 2: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Other Hypotheses: ____________________________________________
Research and Experiments
Method 1: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 1: __________________ Conclusion 1: ____________________
Method 2: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 2: __________________ Conclusion 2: ____________________
Broad Outcomes: _____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
CONTINUE TO ANSWER
PASSAGE QUESTIONS 9-12
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Exercise 1.3
11
9
As described in the passage, the researchers involved
in the Eocene Green River Formation study relied on
The main purpose of the passage is to
A) challenge a series of common assumptions.
A) DNA modeling that considered lace bugs
alongside invertebrates that are not insects.
B) recommend modifications to a method.
C) examine the implications of a discovery.
B) fieldwork that called attention to how lace bugs
fight and communicate.
D) spur discussion of an unsettling finding.
C) computer modeling that helped to compare lace
bug species.
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D) logical conclusions drawn from available lace
bug specimens.
Which choice best describes the structure of the
passage?
A) The common beliefs surrounding a group of
insects are outlined, and a theory that challenges
these beliefs is then assessed.
12
It can be reasonably inferred from the passage as a
whole that lace bugs
B) The genetic profile of a group of insects is
presented, and this information is then used to
explain a few different behaviors.
A) are typically of more interest to casual observers
than to biologists.
C) The traits of a group of insects are described, and
an investigation that revolves around a single
feature of these insects is then documented.
B) have inhabited a large geographic range both at
present and in earlier times.
C) exhibit defensive and mating strategies seen in
other insect groupings.
D) The best-known experiments involving a group of
insects are assessed, and a new experiment that
builds on various earlier results is then profiled.
D) have gradually become more diverse in terms of
size and anatomy.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 72.
Do not turn to any other section.
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Historical Documents
The Historical Documents readings that appear on the SAT are taken from a range of different eras. Selections
from the 18th century to the near-present have been featured both in the College Board’s practice materials and
on the administered tests, though readings from the 19th century have been somewhat predominant recently.
In a sense, these passages resemble the Fiction passages, which exhibit a similar range in time period. The
signature difference, though, is that Fiction passages will never occur in a paired format; History passages
will (as explained in Chapter 5), and these pairings are among the elements of the SAT that pose the greatest
challenges to some test-takers.
Technically, all history documents readings are classified under the title “Founding Documents and Great
Global Conversation.” You don’t need to know this wording; in fact, the College Board’s own title is rather
awkward. Just keep in mind that topics such as the origins of political democracy in the United States and the
clash between different ideologies guide these readings as a group.
Although an area of study as vast as “historical documents” can be potentially difficult to navigate, there are
a few issues, topics, and ideological debates that appear with some regularity on the SAT. Here are a few that,
on the basis of past College Board tests, you might want to be prepared to address.
1. The structure of government (often democratic or representative government versus older forms) and the
obligations that exist between citizens and their government
2. Various forms of injustice (slavery, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, economic suffering) and
the question of the proper response to injustice (new legislation, civil disobedience)
3. Questions of historical progress and reform, including the possible connection between different aspects
of reform or activism (such as the struggle for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery)
4. The political, cultural, economic, and moral attributes of the United States, as analyzed both by leaders
from within the country itself and by observers from other nations (particularly countries in Europe)
5. The motivating principles of the founding documents of the United States, and the ways in which later
policies and ideologies have responded to the country’s founding documents
In general, and in a measure that recalls the intent behind the Social Studies passages, the SAT avoids historical
topics that could be seen as partisan or controversial. It is supremely unlikely that the test would feature
a passage intended mainly to sway its audience to support a current political party, such as Democrats or
Republicans. It is ALSO supremely unlikely that the test would feature a passage on gun rights, abortion,
evolution, or prayer in schools. Official test-makers tend to edit out even passing references to Christianity,
and material related to a religious or ideological dispute that would sharply divide current American voters
would not fit the current emphasis of the material.
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
Approaching the Passages
The historical passages that appear on the SAT require attentive reading. Move at a reasonable pace and
understand the wording, but do NOT allow yourself to get bogged down by the frequent stylistic complexity
of these passages. You should be prepared to deal with the following difficulties, at least at first, for the history
document readings that are taken from the 18th century and the 19th century.
1. Stylistic Challenges (tendency towards long, intricate sentences; some especially tough vocabulary)
2. Tonal Challenges (ironies and shifts in attitude that are difficult to see at a glance)
However, some of the other challenges in these passages are matters of core content—and are linked to the
nature of each reading as an excerpt from a document that takes a momentous historical position.
3. Concept- and Definition-Based Challenges (historical terms and ideas such as “suffrage,” “abolition,” and
“capitalism” that may be unfamiliar, and may require attentive reading for context and comprehension)
4. Position-Based Challenges (intricacies of or qualifications to an author’s argument that, though important,
will NOT be easy to detect without practice or attention to detail)
There are, fortunately, a few main questions that should be useful on ANY History passage that you are given.
Keep these in mind in order to read actively and to maintain focus.
•
What is the author’s main point or position? Why has the author written this piece (to connect issues, to
correct a misconception, to promote a policy . . . ) and what are the main justifications for the author’s
stance?
•
What stylistic techniques (quotations, collective voice, direct address, metaphors, analogies, rhetorical
questions . . . ) dominate the author’s discussion? What points in particular do these techniques help to
convey?
•
What kind of evidence (historical precedents, statistics, etc.) does the author employ? Or does the author
rely mostly on tactics (hypothetical examples, broad claims about human nature, speculations, theories)
that are not necessarily evidence based?
•
What opponents does the author have? What points are these opponents making, and how does the author
address these other sides of the argument?
•
What shifts in topic, tone, stance, or strategy (if any) are present in the passage?
For a systematic presentation of these issues, consult the History checklist. You will notice that the categories
that are given are EXTREMELY perspective-based. This emphasis is perfectly intentional: while some history
authors may not use especially much empirical evidence or may stay very thesis-bound, these authors do with
some regularity consider differing and disagreeing positions. In most cases, the point is to explain and refute
flawed lines of reasoning—NOT to weaken an author’s own approach.
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Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
History Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Main Idea
Core Topic: _______________________________________________
Author’s Position: __________________________________________
Author’s Purpose: __________________________________________
Author’s Argument
Reason 1: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 2: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 3: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Opponent 1: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Opponent 2: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Passage Organization
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
2: __________________
_________________
3: __________________
_________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Main Writing Techniques: ______________________________________
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Exercise 1.4
Questions 13-16 are based on the
following History passage.
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The following passage is adapted from Helen
Hamilton Gardener, “Woman as an Annex.”
This essay appeared in Gardener’s book
Facts and Fictions of Life (1893).
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It is the fashion in this country now-a-days
to say that women are treated as equals. Some
of the most progressive and best of men truly
believe what they say in this regard. One of
our leading daily papers, which insists that
this is true, and even goes so far as to say that
American gentlemen believe in and act upon the
theory that their mothers and daughters are of
a superior quality—and are always of the very
first consideration to and by men—recently had
an editorial headlined “Universal Suffrage the
Birthright of the Free Born.” I read it through, and
if you will believe me, the writer had so large a
bump of sex arrogance that he never once thought
of one-half of humanity in the entire course of
an elaborate and eloquent two-column article!
“Universal” suffrage did not touch but one sex.
There was but one sex “free born.” There was
but one which was born with “rights.” The words
“persons,” “citizens,” “residents of the state,”
and all similar terms were used quite freely, but
not once did it dawn upon the mind of the writer
that every one of those words, every argument
for freedom, every plea for liberty and justice,
equality and right, applied to the human race and
not merely to one-half of that race.
Sex bias, sex arrogance, sex pride, sex
assumption is so ingrained that it simply does
not occur to the male logicians, scientists,
philosophers and politicians that there is a
humanity. They see, think of and argue for and
about only a sex of man—with an annex to
him—woman. They call this the race; but they do
not mean the race—they mean men. They write
and talk of “human beings;” of their needs, their
education, their capacity and development; but
they are not thinking of humanity at all. They are
thinking of, planning for, and executing plans
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which subordinate the race—the human entity—
to a subdivision, the mark and sign of which
is the lowest and most universal possession of
male nature—the mere procreative instinct and
possibility. And this has grown to be the habit of
thought until in science, in philosophy, in religion,
in law, in politics—one and all—we must translate
all language into other terms than those used. For
the word “universal” we must read “male;” for
the “people,” the “nation,” we must read “men.”
The “will of the majority—majority rule”—
really means the larger number of masculine
citizens. And so with all our common language,
it is in a false tense. It is mere democratic verbal
gymnastics, clothing the same old monarchial,
aristocratic mental beliefs, with man now the
“divine right” ruler and with woman his subject
and perquisite. Its gender is misstated and its
import multiplied by two. It does not mean what it
says, and it does not say what it means.
Our thoughts are adjusted to false verbal forms,
and so the thoughts do not ring true. They are
merely hereditary forms of speech. All masculine
thought and expression up to the present time
has been in the language of sex, and not in the
language of race; and so it has come about that
the music of humanity has been set in one key and
played on one chord.
It has been well said that an Englishman cannot
speak French correctly until he has learned to
think in French. It is far more true that no one
can speak or write the language of human liberty
and equality until he has learned to think in that
language, and to feel without stopping to argue
with himself, that right is not masculine only and
that justice knows no sex.
CONTINUE
Part 1: Main Issues in the Passage
History Checklist
Practice Exercise 1.4
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Main Idea
Core Topic: _______________________________________________
Author’s Position: __________________________________________
Author’s Purpose: __________________________________________
Author’s Argument
Reason 1: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 2: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 3: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Opponent 1: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Opponent 2: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Passage Organization
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
2: __________________
_________________
3: __________________
_________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Main Writing Techniques: ______________________________________
CONTINUE TO ANSWER
PASSAGE QUESTIONS 13-16
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Exercise 1.4
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13
Gardener’s main purpose in the passage is to
One of the central ideas present in the passage is that
A) demonstrate that men have intentionally damaged
women’s social status.
A) those who think and write about politics
instinctively consider only a single gender.
B) advocate a policy that would help to re-structure
current reform movements.
B) new political institutions should be created to
address the historical disadvantages of women.
C) prompt her audience to reject a limited
understanding of democracy and injustice.
C) traditional definitions of political concepts have
been altered by the emergence of democracy.
D) justify recent calls for a change in the leadership
of the suffrage reform movement.
D) women’s own unwillingness to assert themselves
has been a key flaw of the women’s suffrage
movement.
14
16
Over the course of the passage, Gardener transitions
from
Which of the following is a technique that Gardener
uses to advance her argument throughout the passage?
A) analyzing popular perceptions of women to
relating women’s rights to her own experience.
A) Comparing the types of voting rights present in
different nations
B) citing the opinions of a divisive figure to noting
the possible merits of those opinions.
B) Acknowledging and dismissing the presumed
weaknesses of her own argument
C) offering a critical assessment of a source to
urging a broader perspective.
C) Quoting political activists whom she regards as
sources of wisdom
D) expressing disagreement with a figure of
authority to endorsing a spirit of cooperation.
D) Pinpointing terms and phrases that are deemed
fundamentally inaccurate
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 72.
Then turn the page for additional exercises.
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Part 1
Questions 17-20 are based on the
following Fiction passage.
This passage is adapted from Vandover and
the Brute (1914) by Frank Norris.
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As he looked back over his life, Vandover
could recall nothing after this, his mother’s death,
for nearly five years. Even after that lapse of time
the only scene he could picture with any degree
of clearness was one of the greatest triviality in
which he saw himself, a rank thirteen-year-old
boy, sitting on a bit of carpet in the back yard of
the San Francisco house playing with his guineapigs.
In order to get at his life during his teens,
Vandover would have been obliged to collect
these scattered memory pictures as best he could,
rearrange them in some more orderly sequence,
piece out what he could imperfectly recall and
fill in the many gaps by mere guesswork and
conjecture.
It was the summer of 1880 that they had come
to San Francisco. Once settled there, Vandover’s
father began to build small residence houses and
cheap flats which he rented at various prices,
the cheapest at ten dollars, the more expensive
at thirty-five and forty. He had closed out his
business in the East, coming out to California on
account of his wife’s ill health. He had made his
money in Boston and had intended to retire.
But he soon found that he could not do this.
At this time he was an old man, nearly sixty. He
had given his entire life to his business to the
exclusion of everything else, and now when his
fortune had been made and when he could afford
to enjoy it, discovered that he had lost the capacity
for enjoying anything but the business itself.
Nothing else could interest him. He was not what
would be called in America a rich man, but he had
made money enough to travel, to allow himself
any reasonable relaxation, to cultivate a taste for
art, music, literature, or the drama, to indulge in
any harmless fad, such as collecting etchings,
china, or bric-à-brac, or even to permit himself
the luxury of horses. In the place of all these he
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found himself, at nearly sixty years of age, forced
again into the sordid round of business as the only
escape from the mortal ennui and weariness of the
spirit that preyed upon him during every leisure
hour of the day.
Early and late he went about the city,
personally superintending the building of his little
houses and cheap flats, sitting on saw-horses and
piles of lumber, watching the carpenters at work.
In the evening he came home to a late supper,
completely fagged, bringing with him the smell of
mortar and of pine shavings.
On the first of each month when his agents
turned over the rents to him he was in great spirits.
He would bring home the little canvas sack of
coin with him before banking it, and call his son’s
attention to the amount, never failing to stick a
twenty-dollar gold-piece in each eye, monocle
fashion, exclaiming, “Good for the masses,” a
meaningless jest that had been one of the family’s
household words for years.
His plan of building was peculiar. His credit
was good, and having chosen his lot he would
find out from the banks how much they would
loan him upon it in case he should become the
owner. If this amount suited him, he would buy
the lot, making one large payment outright and
giving his note for the balance. The lot once his,
the banks loaned him the desired amount. With
this money and with money of his own he would
make the final payment on the lot and would
begin the building itself, paying his labour on the
nail, but getting his material, lumber, brick, and
fittings on time. . . . Real estate was flourishing
in the rapidly growing city, and the new houses,
although built so cheaply that they were mere
shells of lath and plaster, were nevertheless made
gay and brave with varnish and cheap mill-work.
They rented well at first; scarcely a one was ever
vacant. People spoke of the Old Gentleman as one
of the most successful realty owners in the city. So
pleased did he become with the success of his new
venture that in course of time all his money was
reinvested after this fashion.
CONTINUE
Part 1
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17
As described in the passage, Vandover’s father is
notable for his
The passage as a whole primarily describes
A) the impact of an unlikely death within a
prosperous family.
A) vocal contempt for seemingly impractical
pursuits.
B) the differing goals of an otherwise compatible
father and son.
B) immersion in the details of business operations.
C) unwillingness to show mercy to his competitors.
C) the pleasing routines agreed upon by members of
a household.
D) skill in quickly winning new friends and
confidantes.
D) the pursuits of a man who is regarded as a local
success.
20
18
In the passage, one significant shift in focus is from
One way that the narrator of the passage provides
insight into the character of Vandover’s father is by
A) Vandover’s attempts to remember his childhood
to conflicting perspectives on Vandover’s father.
A) paraphrasing Vandover’s own statements about
his father.
B) Vandover’s recollections to the projects and
personality of Vandover’s father.
B) recording the changing ways in which Vandover’s
mother saw her husband.
C) Vandover’s sense of isolation to the deep-seated
pride of Vandover’s father.
C) noting a few fairly reliable habits and tendencies.
D) presenting a single counterintuitive analogy.
D) Vandover’s creativity in childhood to the troubled
old age of Vandover’s father.
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CONTINUE
Part 1
Questions 21-24 are based on the
following Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The
Dreams Ideas Are Made Of” (2014) by
Alex Camarota. Originally published* in
InventorsEye, a newsletter of the United
States Patent and Trademark Office.
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The Internet is brimming with stories about
inventions and discoveries that appeared
in dreams. Einstein is said to have begun
contemplating the theory of relativity after
dreaming about cows when he was a teenager.
There’s also the story of Elias Howe, inventor
of the sewing machine, who got the idea for a
needle with the eye at its tip after dreaming about
an incident involving spear-wielding cannibals.
The list of dream-born creations goes on and on,
from the lyrics of famous songs to the molecular
structures for common chemicals. . .
Inventors Eye’s most recent spark of genius,
Kim Meckwood, also got the idea for her Click &
Carry in a dream. She needed to solve the problem
of carrying multiple bags of groceries up long
flights of stairs to her apartment, and that’s exactly
what she did. But for Meckwood, getting ideas
while asleep is nothing new. She said dreaming
is a way for her to process her thoughts and
allow ideas to percolate and rise to the surface.
As it turns out, this is also what some experts say
dreaming is all about.
Most dreaming occurs during rapid eye
movement (REM), the period of sleep when the
eyes erratically dart to and fro beneath the eyelids.
REM sleep is also marked by increased brain
activity. Various theories (none of which have a
consensus in the scientific community) attempt
to explain the purpose of dreaming and REM.
According to one, REM is the result of the brain
processing and organizing the day’s thoughts,
sights, and sounds. In this way, dreams might
be a way for us to contemplate things that we
are unable to or unwilling to contemplate during
waking hours—or a way for us to finally grasp the
solution to a problem that puzzled us.
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*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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Aside from the occasional dream, inventors
get their ideas in many different ways. While
stories of invention often start with a common
problem that needs fixing, the way inventors
arrive at the solution can be varied. Most solutions
are the result of trial and error, thinking and
perseverance—like the Wright Brothers’ flying
machine. Others still are the result of mere
accident—Post-It Notes and vulcanized rubber
were stumbled upon while their inventors were
pursuing a different angle. And then there is the
proverbial light bulb moment, when inspiration
feels so new and disruptive it seems almost
miraculous. But there’s a rub: it turns out a lot
of good ideas are really just additions to, or new
directions taken from, already existing ideas.
One thing is clear: innovation happens
in increments. Even during today’s rapid
technological expansion, most new mindboggling
creations are the result of teams of researchers
and engineers analyzing previous devices and
processes, and figuring out how to make them
better. Even independent inventors solving
everyday problems are adding their own ideas to
ones that already exist. Invention does not occur
in a vacuum.
This collaborative system of productivity
is common today, but that wasn’t always the
case. Ideas have not always had free reign to
intermingle and bounce off each other. In fact,
some experts, including notable science and
technology writer Steven Johnson, credit the
arrival of a truly collaborative “marketplace
of ideas” to something that many of us take a
warming to: coffee.
First appearing on the European continent in
the mid-1600s, coffee houses quickly took hold
as everyone from noblemen to street sweepers
clamored in for a caffeine kick. The result, says
Johnson, was that people from all walks of life
began mingling and rubbing shoulders. Naturally,
so did their ideas. Coffee houses were gathering
places to talk about every subject, from politics
and philosophy to science and technology. The
collaborative environment that sprung up in
European coffee houses in the 17th century gave
CONTINUE
Part 1
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rise to what became known as the Enlightenment,
itself leading to scientific and technological
revolutions and even the modern patent system. . .
Every time an inventor receives a patent, he
or she adds to the archive of mankind’s collective
good ideas. Patents force new ideas to enter the
marketplace and replace or improve the old. The
state of the art advances, and the process repeats
itself ad infinitum. You might even say that the
patent system is the coffee house of intellectual
property, where inventors and their inventions
come together to mingle and learn and take new
directions.
So go ahead: have another cup of Joe, but
always remember to dream.
23
One of the author’s central ideas in the passage is that
A) dreams have inspired more potent inventions than
collaborative approaches have inspired.
B) inventors value extended REM sleep as a means
of cultivating new ideas.
C) some of the processes linked to invention have
not yet met with scientific consensus.
D) explanations of how inventions emerge have
changed little since the 1600s.
24
21
The passage as a whole indicates that inventions of
different kinds are inspired by
The main purpose of the passage is to
A) present scientific research that lends credibility
to ideas about invention that would otherwise
appear outlandish.
A) new ideas and a desire to make improvements.
B) community-driven endeavors to gain recognition.
C) personal expression as opposed to profitability.
B) show how a seemingly outdated set of beliefs has
led to revolutionary new inventions.
D) everyday nuisances that require quick resolutions.
C) survey a range of factors in order to consider how
influential inventions and ideas were conceived.
D) emphasize the fact that inventors see isolation
from one another as essential to their work.
22
Overall, the passage is structured as
A) a synopsis of theoretical debates that do not fully
align with current practices.
B) a set of anecdotes that suggest conflicts involving
prominent figures.
C) a series of facts that are individually intriguing
but fundamentally dissimilar.
D) a group of examples that offer possibilities related
to a common theme.
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67
CONTINUE
Part 1
Questions 25-28 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “NIH
researchers discover highly infectious vehicle
for transmission of viruses among humans,”
a 2018 news release* from the National
Institutes of Health.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
Researchers have found that a group of viruses
that cause severe stomach illness—including
the one famous for widespread outbreaks
on cruise ships—get transmitted to humans
through membrane-cloaked “virus clusters” that
exacerbate the spread and severity of disease.
Previously, it was believed that these viruses
only spread through individual virus particles.
The discovery of these clusters, the scientists
say, marks a turning point in the understanding
of how these viruses spread and why they are
so infectious. This preliminary work could lead
to the development of more effective antiviral
agents than existing treatments that mainly target
individual particles.
The researchers studied norovirus and
rotavirus—hard-to-treat viruses that are the
most common cause of stomach illness, or
gastroenteritis, and that afflict millions of
people each year. The viruses cause symptoms
ranging from diarrhea to abdominal pain and can
sometimes result in death, particularly among
young children and the elderly. Their highly
contagious nature has led to serious outbreaks in
crowded spaces throughout many communities,
most notably in cruise ships, daycare centers,
classrooms, and nursing homes. Fortunately,
vaccines against rotavirus are now available and
are routinely given to babies in the United States.
“This is a really exciting finding in the field
of virology because it reveals a mode of virus
spread that has not been observed among humans
and animals,” said study leader Nihal AltanBonnet, Ph.D., senior investigator and head of
the Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Dynamics at
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI). “We hope that it will provide new clues
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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68
to fighting a wide range of diseases involving
many types of viruses, including those that cause
gastrointestinal illnesses, heart inflammation,
certain respiratory illnesses, and even the common
cold.”
The study was supported in part by the
Intramural Research programs of the NHLBI and
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID), both part of the National
Institutes of Health. It is featured as the cover
story of Cell Host & Microbe and appears online
on August 8.
Until a few years ago, most scientists believed
that viruses, particularly those responsible
for stomach illnesses, could only behave as
independent infectious agents. However, in 2015
Altan-Bonnet and her colleagues showed that
polioviruses could transmit themselves in packets,
or membrane-bound vesicles containing multiple
virus particles. The scientists compared this new
model of viral transmission to a Trojan horse: a
group of membrane-bound viruses arrives at a
host cell and deposits viruses in the cell while
dodging detection by the immune system. The
scientists did not know whether this system
applied to animals and humans, or how effective
these packets were in infecting host cells.
To find out, they focused on rotaviruses
and noroviruses, which mainly get spread
through accidental ingestion of tiny particles
of an infected person’s stool—through, for
example, contaminated food or liquids. The
researchers obtained fecal samples of humans
and animals (pigs and mice) and found that the
viruses are shed in the stool as virus clusters
inside membrane-bound packets. In addition,
they found that these virus-containing vesicles
were significantly more infectious than the free,
unbound viruses within the samples.
The researchers determined that the high level
of infectiousness was likely due to the vesicles
delivering many viruses at once to the target
tissues; protecting their viral cargo from being
destroyed by prolonged exposure to enzymes; and
possibly by making their viral cargo invisible to
the antibodies that are in the stool or gut of the
CONTINUE
Part 1
85
90
95
host. More studies are needed, but the extreme
potency of the virus packets, they said, has a
clear consequence: it not only enhances the
virus’ ability to spread more aggressively; it also
increases the severity of the disease it causes.
Handwashing with soap and water helps prevent
the spread of viruses.
“Our findings indicate that vesicle-cloaked
viruses are highly virulent units of fecal-oral
transmission, and highlight a need for antivirals
targeting vesicles and virus clustering,” AltanBonnet noted.
27
Over the course of the passage, the main focus shifts
from
A) statements that put a research endeavor in
perspective to documentation of experimental
procedures and results.
B) explanations of how an experiment was
conducted to remarks that summarize public
responses to that experiment.
C) assertions that celebrate the ingenuity of how an
experiment was designed to statements that
complicate such praise.
25
D) criticisms of proposed approaches to a dilemma
to firsthand accounts from the researchers who
addressed that dilemma.
The passage as a whole primarily serves to
A) underscore a failure of earlier therapeutic
methods, then celebrate a newly-developed
technique.
28
B) assess a single scientific field, then promote an
interdisciplinary approach.
It can be reasonably inferred that the study that is the
focus of the passage was
C) describe a health liability, then record
experimental findings.
A) disputed by experts who were receptive to
Altan-Bonnet’s earlier work.
D) explain a humanitarian crisis, then endorse one
possible solution.
B) not entirely conclusive but still suggestive of
useful applications.
C) embraced by specialists in public health despite
its apparent shortcomings.
26
D) eventually instrumental in preventing virus
outbreaks on cruise ships.
As described in the passage, Altan-Bonnet and the
other researchers were mainly interested in viruses
that
A) had adapted over time to resist a variety of
treatment methods.
B) were known from their symptoms but had never
been directly studied.
C) lead to infamous and occasionally fatal problems.
D) continue to be too diverse to classify formally.
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69
CONTINUE
Part 1
Questions 29-32 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from “The Theory of
Social Revolutions” (1913) by Brooks Adams.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
The same acceleration of the social movement
which has caused this centralization of capital
has caused the centralization of another form of
human energy, which is its negative: labor unions
organize labor as a monopoly. Labor protests
against the irresponsible sovereignty of capital, as
men have always protested against irresponsible
sovereignty, declaring that the capitalistic social
system, as it now exists, is a form of slavery. Very
logically, therefore, the abler and bolder labor
agitators proclaim that labor levies actual war
against society, and that in that war there can be
no truce until irresponsible capital has capitulated.
Also, in labor’s methods of warfare the same
phenomena appear as in the autocracy of capital.
Labor attacks capitalistic society by methods
beyond the purview of the law, and may, at any
moment, shatter the social system, while, under
our laws and institutions, society is helpless.
Few persons, I should imagine, who reflect
on these phenomena, fail to admit to themselves,
whatever they may say publicly, that present
social conditions are unsatisfactory, and I take
the cause of the stress to be that which I have
stated. We have extended the range of applied
science until we daily use infinite forces, and
those forces must, apparently, disrupt our society,
unless we can raise the laws and institutions
which hold society together to an energy and
efficiency commensurate to them. How much
vigor and ability would be required to accomplish
such a work may be measured by the experience
of Washington, who barely prevailed in his
relatively simple task, surrounded by a generation
of extraordinary men, and with the capitalistic
class of America behind him. Without the
capitalistic class he must have failed. Therefore
one most momentous problem of the future is the
attitude which capital can or will assume in this
emergency.
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55
60
65
70
75
80
85
70
That some of the more sagacious of the
capitalistic class have preserved that instinct
of self-preservation which was so conspicuous
among men of the type of Washington is apparent
from the position taken by the management
of the United States Steel Company, and by
the Republican minority of the Congressional
Committee which recently investigated the Steel
Company; but whether such men very strongly
influence the genus to which they belong is
not clear. If they do not, much improvement in
existing conditions can hardly be anticipated.
If capital insists upon continuing to
exercise sovereign powers, without accepting
responsibility as for a trust, the revolt against the
existing order must probably continue, and that
revolt can only be dealt with, as all servile revolts
must be dealt with, by physical force. I doubt,
however, if even the most ardent and optimistic
of capitalists would care to speculate deeply
upon the stability of any government capital
might organize, which rested on the fundamental
principle that the American people must be ruled
by an army. On the other hand any government
to be effective must be strong. It is futile to talk
of keeping peace in labor disputes by compulsory
arbitration, if the government has not the power
to command obedience to its arbitrators’ decree;
but a government able to constrain a couple
of hundred thousand discontented railway
employees to work against their will, must differ
considerably from the one we have. Nor is it
possible to imagine that labor will ever yield
peaceful obedience to such constraint, unless
capital makes equivalent concessions,—unless,
perhaps, among other things, capital consents
to erect tribunals which shall offer relief to any
citizen who can show himself to be oppressed by
the monopolistic price. In fine, a government, to
promise stability in the future, must apparently be
so much more powerful than any private interest,
that all men will stand equally before its tribunals;
and these tribunals must be flexible enough to
reach those categories of activity which now lie
beyond legal jurisdiction. If it be objected that
the American people are incapable of an effort so
CONTINUE
Part 1
90
prodigious, I readily admit that this may be true,
but I also contend that the objection is beside the
issue. What the American people can or cannot do
is a matter of opinion, but that social changes are
imminent appears to be almost certain. Though
these changes cannot be prevented, possibly they
may, to a degree, be guided, as Washington guided
the changes of 1789.
31
As the author of the passage, Adams addresses his
audience as
A) a concerned commentator who hopes to account
for a few different perspectives.
B) an impartial historian who is skeptical of recent
claims about scientific progress.
C) an advocate for workers who knowingly
overstates the faults of the capitalistic class.
29
D) an engaged citizen who predicts the formation of
an improved political system.
The main purpose of the passage is to
A) assert that democracy does not adequately
represent those who most require aid.
B) explain that the labor movement in the United
States should not be blamed for its recent
excesses.
32
Throughout the passage, Adams develops his
argument by
C) call into question the validity of a historical world
view that omits economic considerations.
A) referring to a historical situation that may offer
guidance.
D) investigate the social and political circumstances
that surround a troubling situation.
B) citing common misinterpretations of the motives
of antagonistic groups.
C) examining the origins of a few notable labor
disputes.
30
D) directly addressing the American people to urge
national harmony.
One central claim of the passage is that
A) conflict between social classes is impossible to
avert.
B) compromise may be a way to address extremism
and instability.
C) new laws inspire protest more often than they
prompt compliance.
D) laborers will only embrace conformity if doing so
will raise their social status.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 72.
Do not turn to any other section.
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71
Answer Key
Main Issue Questions
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
B
D
C
A
A
D
A
C
C
C
D
B
C
C
A
D
Passage 5
Passage 6
Passage 7
Passage 8
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
D
B
B
C
C
D
C
A
C
C
A
B
D
B
A
A
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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72
Part 2
Passage Details
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 2
Passage Details
Question Fundamentals
While working through the Major Issue questions, you might have noticed that there were several false
answers that could be readily eliminated. Some of these contained concepts that were present nowhere in the
passage; others may have contained ideas that were in some ways present, but introduced subtle flaws in how
ideas were connected or explained. Each passage checklist could direct you to the fundamental information
that you would need to eliminate answers that deviated from the passage’s content.
Working with Passage Details questions is in some ways a fundamentally similar task, since the SAT Reading
section will continue to require attentive uses of evidence and conscientious elimination of problematic
answer choices. However, the strategy here does NOT vary based on passage type. Instead, your challenge is
to focus on specific line references, to read for context and comprehension, and to derive enough information
to quickly cross off any false concepts, words, or tones that the answer choices offer.
Although this chapter does call attention to a few specialized question types—characterization, purpose, and
logical inference among them—ALL Passage Details questions will follow roughly the same strategy. The
only real difference, some times, is how much information you need to factor in to arrive at the correct answer.
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74
Part 2: Passage Details
The Core Strategy
Your first step, naturally, is to determine that you are in fact dealing with a Passage Detail question. This
step itself relies on some process of elimination, since you must make sure that you are NOT dealing with a
question that falls under Major Issue or Command of Evidence. Simply keep in mind the common formats.
•
Major Issue: asks about OVERALL purpose, scenario, argument; may also ask about an issue (a major
character or a broad writing technique) that CANNOT be localized to a few lines
•
Command of Evidence: format includes four line references either as answer choices or as answer choices
in the NEXT question
Here, instead, are the clues that you are dealing with a Passage Details question.
•
Line References: “The first paragraph of the passage . . . ” “In lines 27-34 . . . ”
•
Precise Detail: “As described early in the passage, Olga’s friends . . . ” “It can be inferred that high-salt
diets can harm mice because . . . ”
Once you have determined that you are in fact dealing with a set number of lines or a highly localized detail,
perform the following steps REGARDLESS of the other details of the Passage Details question.
1. Determine the EXACT TOPIC that the question requires you to address and CIRCLE
the key words or concepts in the question itself
2. Locate the LINE REFERENCE, then READ CLOSELY and READ AROUND for
comprehension
3. Use the information from your reading to write a SHORT ANSWER and TONE
(positive or negative) in response to the question
4. Perform a first round of PROCESS OF ELIMINATION using your predicted answer
and (if appropriate) comprehension from your overall reading of the passage, so that all
false words and false tones are crossed off
5. Revisit the lines to gather more information (if you have any REMAINING false
answers) or to check your chosen answer against the text (if you have ELIMINATED
ALL false answers)
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75
Part 2: Passage Details
These steps will allow you to see the most valuable components of the information at hand—or at least
ENOUGH components to reliably eliminate false answers. However, some differentiation may be necessary
from here. Different Passage Details questions call upon you to focus on special features of a text, and
perhaps—while still working with evidence—to place emphasis on different features of your predicted best
answer.
Summary
The various Summary questions on the SAT Reading section call upon you to find precise information, often
with the goal of offering a paraphrase or an accurate overall statement. You may be directed to a specific line
or paragraph; in fact, the main variation in Summary questions involves HOW MUCH information you must
factor in. A few of the Summary tasks that you may need to perform are as follow.
•
Determining the traits, mood, or reactions of a fictional character or a real individual
•
Explaining the important features of a process, situation, or setting
•
Finding a specific detail or set of details that relates to a specific point or idea
•
Explaining the content of a few key sentences or of a paragraph as a whole
To see how to work with the first—and somewhat more localized—of these possibilities, consider the following
demonstration. The question below is new, but returns (as many of the questions in the next few chapters will)
to content from the Diagnostic Test.
Line
5
10
15
Olga Ivanovna was twenty-two, Dymov
was thirty-one. They got on splendidly together
when they were married. Olga Ivanovna hung
all her drawing-room walls with her own and
other people’s sketches, in frames and without
frames, and near the piano and furniture arranged
picturesque corners with Japanese parasols, easels,
daggers, busts, photographs, and rags of many
colours . . . In the dining-room she papered the
walls with peasant woodcuts, hung up bark shoes
and sickles, stood in a corner a scythe and a rake,
and so achieved a dining-room in the Russian
style. In her bedroom she draped the ceiling and
the walls with dark cloths to make it like a cavern,
hung a Venetian lantern over the beds, and at
the door set a figure with a halberd. And every
one thought that the young people had a very
charming little home.
3
As described in the first paragraph of the passage,
the relationship between Olga and Dymov is best
understood as
A) harmonious.
B) uneasy.
C) distant.
D) celebrated.
This question gives you a specific location (“first paragraph”) and a specific topic (“relationship between Olga
and Dymov”). Any content OUTSIDE of these constraints will be problematic; as the steps that follow will
demonstrate, the Passage Details method is designed to maintain a reasonable focus on key items.
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76
Part 2: Passage Details
Steps 1-3
3
As described in the first paragraph of the passage,
the relationship between Olga and Dymov is best
understood as . . .
Line
5
Olga Ivanovna was twenty-two, Dymov was
thirty-one. They got on splendidly together
when they were married. Olga Ivanovna hung
all her drawing-room walls with her own and
other people’s sketches, in frames and without
•
Question requires attention to the “relationship
between Olga and Dymov” (CIRCLE) as
designated (step 1)
•
Go to the first paragraph and find the relevant
content, which should relate to the characters
and their interactions (step 2)
•
Formulate an answer based on the content,
which describes how Olga and Dymov “got on”
or got along in a positive manner (step 3)
To make a reasonable prediction, you could simply write “get along, +” next to the question. This sort of
annotation takes VERY little time if done well, and allows you to undertake process of elimination with high
efficiency.
Steps 4-5
•
3
As described in the first paragraph of the passage,
the relationship between Olga and Dymov is best
understood as
Use the prediction “get along, +” to eliminate
ALL false concepts and false tones (step 4)
A) harmonious.
close to “get along,” positive (KEEP)
B) uneasy.
negative (eliminate)
C) distant.
negative (eliminate)
D) celebrated.
positive, but raises the concept of reputation or joy,
NOT of people who “get along” (eliminate)
“got on splendidly together . . . ” = “harmonious”
•
Check the passage to confirm that your chosen
answer, “harmonious,” does fit the content
(step 5)
While the steps for Summary questions that only call attention to a few line references can be quite
straightforward, questions that require you to examine full paragraphs can be a challenge at first. Even here,
the same methods will apply. The main difference is that your predicted answer is somewhat less likely to
direct you ENTIRELY to the right answer on a first run; if you find yourself in such a case, strategic re-reading
for additional content may be necessary, as the following example from the Diagnostic Test shows.
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77
Part 2: Passage Details
Line
5
10
15
Olga Ivanovna was twenty-two, Dymov
was thirty-one. They got on splendidly together
when they were married. Olga Ivanovna hung
all her drawing-room walls with her own and
other people’s sketches, in frames and without
frames, and near the piano and furniture arranged
picturesque corners with Japanese parasols, easels,
daggers, busts, photographs, and rags of many
colours . . . In the dining-room she papered the
walls with peasant woodcuts, hung up bark shoes
and sickles, stood in a corner a scythe and a rake,
and so achieved a dining-room in the Russian
style. In her bedroom she draped the ceiling and
the walls with dark cloths to make it like a cavern,
hung a Venetian lantern over the beds, and at
the door set a figure with a halberd. And every
one thought that the young people had a very
charming little home.
3
The first paragraph serves mainly to describe how
A) one character altered her surroundings in a
manner that met with approval.
B) one character assigned a series of meaningful
decisions to a second character.
C) one character reinvented a setting as an
expression of her unique personality.
D) two characters developed a collaborative method
for making improvements to their household.
Steps 1-3
•
Consider the ENTIRE first paragraph, and read •
this content for close comprehension. The topic
is how Olga chose decorations herself, and her
home is regarded as “charming” (steps 1-2)
Formulate and write an answer that quickly
presents key concepts, such as “marriage, Olga’s
decorations, +” (step 3)
Now, consider the answers. You will notice that ALL of these seem to have positive elements, but only a few
of them relate to the predictions that have been noted above.
Step 4
•
3
Use the prediction “marriage, Olga’s decorations
+” to eliminate ALL false concepts and false
tones
The first paragraph serves mainly to describe how
A) one character altered her surroundings in a
manner that met with approval.
close to “Olga’s decorations” (KEEP)
B) one character assigned a series of meaningful
decisions to a second character.
shifts focus away from Olga (eliminate)
C) one character reinvented a setting as an
expression of her unique personality.
seems close to “Olga’s decorations” (POSSIBLE?)
D) two characters developed a collaborative method
for making improvements to their household.
shifts focus away from Olga, raises faulty theme of
“collaborative method” (eliminate)
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Part 2: Passage Details
You may recall from the Diagnostic Test that the answer is in fact A. Still, under the time constraints, C may
appear to be an appealing choice since it DOES reference the core topic of the prediction. Answers of this sort
will often feature incorrect LOGIC (when the key terms are present) or inaccurate SIDE TOPICS (when the
main theme or topic is nonetheless addressed in some manner). In cases such as this one, return to the passage
and re-read to account for ALL content.
Step 5
•
A: Does the paragraph mention that Olga’s
alterations “met with approval”? YES (lines
16-18, “And every one thought that the young
people had a very charming little home.”)
•
C: Does the paragraph connect the setting to
Olga’s “unique personality”? NO (objects are
mentioned but are not EXPLICITLY connected to
her specific character traits)
There are two important notes on this stage of the method.
1. Checking for more evidence is NOT the same as double-guessing. If you genuinely cannot decide between
two choices such as A and C, your task is to factor in MORE content. If you used the method to successfully
get A and detected a critical flaw in C using an early prediction, be cautious of ANY further analysis. As
you complete more tests, you should start using the methods instinctively—and should never over-think
your way out of correct answers.
2. Some answers, such as C, may rely on extrapolation, interpretation, or indeterminate content. For instance,
it is possible that Olga’s decorations do reflect her personality—but it also possible that they do not, since
the passage does not EXPLICITLY raise this point. An answer that “seems logical” or “sounds good” but
is not directly backed by content should be automatically eliminated.
Purpose
Despite their different designation, Purpose questions do not always differ from Summary questions in major
ways. These two question types can share wording—for instance, “serves to,” which is used both for entire
paragraphs for Summary questions and for various Purpose questions—and for the sake of efficiency you
should NOT spend much time thinking about fine distinctions here.
Overall, Purpose questions call attention to the following issues.
•
The effects of specific word choices or turns of phrase within a passage
•
The author’s motive for including a specific image, phrase, or piece of information
•
The ways in which different parts of a passage relate to one another (setting up examples, returning to
key ideas, defining central terms, etc.)
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Part 2: Passage Details
To work with these questions, you typically do NOT need any specialized training in rhetorical terminology
(although some background in this area, as part of your vocabulary training, may increase your comfort with
the test as a whole). What you MAY need is significantly more reading around or more consideration of a
passage’s main issues than Summary questions tend to require. Consider, here, the following example, which
returns to the Diagnostic Test content.
80
must be of use. I don’t understand them, but not
understanding does not imply disbelieving in
them.”
“Let me shake your honest hand!”
After dinner Olga Ivanovna would drive off to
see her friends, then to a theatre or to a concert,
and she returned home after midnight. So it was
every day.
10
The final sentence of the passage serves primarily to
indicate that
A) Olga is eager to make changes in her way of
living.
B) the reader is meant to see the passage’s characters
as unwilling to change.
C) Dymov and Olga are not fully aware of the
psychological effects of their marriage.
D) the passage as a whole describes a predictable
lifestyle.
Although a question that calls attention to a single sentence and what it “serves primarily to indicate” may
seem to require clever analysis, the answer can be quite straightforward. Just work through the method as
carefully as possible.
Steps 1-3
10
The final sentence of the passage serves primarily to
indicate that . . .
After dinner Olga Ivanovna would drive off to
see her friends, then to a theatre or to a concert,
and she returned home after midnight. So it was
every day.
•
Question requires attention to the “final
sentence” (CIRCLE) as designated (step 1)
•
Go to the final paragraph and find the sentence,
then read around to clarify that the words “So it
was” refer to Olga’s pleasant lifestyle (step 2)
•
Formulate an answer based on the content,
which describes a lifestyle that continues every
day in a positive manner (step 3)
Now, use your predictions from the cited content and the required reading around to work through the answer
choices.
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Part 2: Passage Details
Steps 4-5
•
10
The final sentence of the passage serves primarily to
indicate that
A) Olga is eager to make changes in her way of
living.
Use the prediction “lifestyle continues, +” to
eliminate ALL false concepts and false tones
(step 4)
directly contradicts the prediction (eliminate)
B) the reader is meant to see the passage’s characters negative towards the characters (eliminate)
as unwilling to change.
somewhat negative, false theme of limited
C) Dymov and Olga are not fully aware of the
awareness (eliminate)
psychological effects of their marriage.
D) the passage as a whole describes a predictable
lifestyle.
“every day . . . ” = “predictable lifestyle”
theme or idea of predictability, avoids a tone but
possible positive (CORRECT)
•
Check the passage to confirm that your chosen
answer, “predictable lifestyle,” does fit the
content (step 5)
Inference
The Inference questions on the SAT Reading section require you to draw logical conclusions based on
information available in the text. Verbs such as “suggest,” “indicate,” “support,” and of course “infer” will
signal this question type. Although each Inference question can be answered using the standard method,
some of these questions may require you to consider new and direct consequences of the information present.
Such consequences will ALWAYS be evidence-based. For instance, if the passage indicates that “a majority
of students did not vote in the recent election,” a reasonable inference—and one that COULD appear in the
answer choices—would involve the other side of this situation, that “only a minority of students cast election
ballots.”
Here are a few of the topics or aptitudes that Inference questions have incorporated on recent SAT tests.
•
Determining what conclusion is supported (or undermined) by information present in the passage
•
Explaining the correct cause-and-effect relationship involving information from the passage
•
Deciding which situation supports (or contradicts) an idea or finding present in the passage
•
Selecting a situation or scenario that is similar to content from the passage
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81
Part 2: Passage Details
Note that you will NEVER deviate from information that is given to you “in the passage.” This fundamental
is important to keep in mind even as you work with Inference questions that become complex and that might
tempt you to try either a shortcut or a “creative” approach. Just stay with the Passage Details method, and even
a complicated Inference question such as the one that follows will soon resolve itself.
65
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75
80
Since people with certain mental disorders
show alterations in brain size related to genetic
influences, the new cortex maps may improve
understanding of altered brain organization in
disorders. The higher expanding regions are also
implicated across diverse neurodevelopmental
disorders, so the new insights may hold clues to
understanding how genetic and environmental
changes can impact higher mental functions.
“Our study shows there are consistent
organizational changes between large brains and
small brains,” said Raznahan. “Observing that
the brain needs to consistently configure itself
differently as a function of its size is important for
understanding how the brain functions in health
and disease states.”
“Notably, we saw the same patterns for scaledup brains across three large independent datasets,”
noted Seidlitz.
30
Which of the following findings would most clearly
CONTRADICT the primary findings of the study
described in the passage?
A) The quickest-growing areas of the brain can take
over functions often assigned to slower-growing
areas.
B) The typical neurodevelopmental disease renders
the brain completely incapable of growing or
changing.
C) The regions of the brain that govern higher-order
thinking can experience unusually high growth
rates in the brains of subjects who have
psychological disorders.
D) The growth of brain regions related to analysis
and problem solving can lead to impaired
physical coordination.
Begin by reading the question carefully, and notice that you need to evaluate the “primary findings” of the
passage. From your work with the Main Issues in the passage, you should know that—for this Diagnostic
Test reading—the findings are provided in the final few paragraphs. Note also that you need an answer that
contradicts one of these findings (NOT one that supports a finding) and keep this fact firmly in mind as you
set the techniques to work.
Steps 1-3
30
Which of the following findings would most clearly
CONTRADICT the primary findings of the study
described in the passage?
Since people with certain mental disorders show
alterations in brain size related to genetic influences . . . The
higher expanding regions are also implicated across diverse
neurodevelopmental disorders . . . “Our study shows there are
consistent organizational changes between large brains and
small brains” . . . “the brain needs to consistently configure
itself differently as a function of its size” . . . “Notably, we saw
the same patterns for scaled-up brains”
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
•
Question requires attention to something that
would “CONTRADICT” a finding (CIRCLE) as
designated (step 1)
•
Read through the findings and note main
conclusions, such as “disorders and expansion”
and “brains consistently changing” (step 2)
•
Formulate an answer based on the content,
which describes how brains at different levels of
size and mental health can change (step 3)
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Part 2: Passage Details
Steps 4-5
30
•
Which of the following findings would most clearly
CONTRADICT the primary findings of the study
described in the passage?
A) The quickest-growing areas of the brain can take
over functions often assigned to slower-growing
areas.
Use the prediction “brains changing”
to determine the answer, which should
CONTRADICT the idea that the brain changes
(step 4)
indicates that brains DO grow (eliminate)
B) The typical neurodevelopmental disease renders
the brain completely incapable of growing or
changing.
indicates that some brains to NOT grow (KEEP)
C) The regions of the brain that govern higher-order
thinking can experience unusually high growth
rates in the brains of subjects who have
psychological disorders.
indicates that brains DO grow (eliminate)
D) The growth of brain regions related to analysis
and problem solving can lead to impaired
physical coordination.
indicates that brains DO grow (eliminate)
“neurodevelopmental disorders . . . ” in lines 70-71,
“neurodevelopmental disease . . . ” in the answer
•
Check the passage to confirm that your chosen
answer fits an appropriate concept from the
relevant content (step 5)
Now that you are familiar with the fundamental strategy and the core classifications for Passage Details
questions, put your skills to the test with the practice questions that follow. You may see some question
formats and topics that are unfamiliar at first, but your approach should be consistent throughout.
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83
Part 2
Questions 1-6 are based on the following
Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Saachika
Reddy, “Winter Orchids” (2017).
Line
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35
Another Wednesday arrived, and with it
another not-quite-self-consciously resplendent
message from Monsieur Tremblay. Avni followed
along as his prose, after alighting on the briefest
yet warmest of greetings, swept off over the
autumny tundras of Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
tentatively returned back to inspect the contents of
a few curiously dog-eared volumes in Monsieur
Tremblay’s book collection, and finally settled
down in the grotto-like eateries and slow-falling
dusks of Old Montreal. As always, it was hard
to say where distant recollection ended and the
more recent past began. Monsieur Tremblay’s
narrations, in sweeping over so much space,
seemed to find it necessary to suspend time; the
acrobatics of moving so deftly from sight to sight
allowed no time to pause for the necessary when
and how of a more mundane account. His words
suspended both the dull mechanics of travel—the
waits, the rides, the rain, the headaches—and the
threatening absurdity of trying to commit any
rich thought to e-mail. Somehow, thought Avni,
Monsieur Tremblay restored dignity to a medium
that had none of the inherent dignity of pen and
ink.
Then, as an anticlimax, there would be a
perfectly unimportant and perfectly edited
business letter attached. “For your review, please
find . . . ” the message would conclude, and Avni
would—as a matter of habit—ask herself yet
again why Monsieur Tremblay and his Henry
James*-ian command of English required a
proofreading service.
Whether writing provided Monsieur Tremblay
a refuge or whether he poured out his experiences
in mulled bronze prose out of a sort of compulsion
was impossible, even now, for Avni to determine.
45
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From the headshot, resume, and questionnaire
answers in his client profile she had deduced
everything she could; she had constructed an
image of this diminutive 50-year-old wandering
around Prince Edward Island and twining together
the serpentine sentences of his next letter. Yet she
knew nothing of why he wrote like this, why he
wrote at all. Wouldn’t it be enough to have these
transcendent thoughts all to oneself?
Avni thought it would be. To have a world such
as Monsieur Tremblay’s all to oneself would be
enough. In such a place, needling messages from
one’s brother and mother would have no way to
pierce through. Her mother was the more direct of
the two, and should have been the more irksome:
Avni had received dozens of e-mails with links to
marketing jobs and research fellowships. “Perhaps
you should look at this” and “This one looks
interesting” had become interchangeable with her
mother’s presence. Avni’s response was always
indifference. Her brother didn’t send “helpful”
e-mails, for his part. Instead he called at strange
hours and asked Avni a series of harmless day-today questions, though the worry and annoyance in
his voice were both unmistakable to her. Beneath
an inquiry about an unimportant movie would be
the thought, “Are you still just patching together
part-time work, really, seriously?” Beneath a
remark about an election that neither of them
cared about would be the sentiment, “Please, find
something to do, a real job. I’m not saying this
to insult you. I’m saying this because I have an
MBA and you have a PhD, and only one of us is
making good on these facts.” Avni would want to
sigh the loudest possible sigh of relief at the end
of each of these conversations. She was not trying
to convince him of anything at this point, and she
had won enough arguments with herself to feel
convinced that she was in the right, that the $18
per hour she made as a proofreader was a measure
of so few of the things that made life worthwhile.
*Henry James (1843-1916): American novelist and critic
famous for the complex imagery and syntax of his writing
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84
CONTINUE
Part 2
4
1
The first paragraph of the passage serves to establish
The question in lines 45-46 mainly functions to
A) one of Monsieur Tremblay’s motives for
confiding in Avni.
A) resolve a few of the questions surrounding
Monsieur Tremblay’s background.
B) a few of the broad characteristics of Monsieur
Tremblay’s style of writing.
B) address a few of the apprehensions raised by
Avni’s mother.
C) the role of a formative experience in altering
Monsieur Tremblay’s character.
C) demonstrate Monsieur Tremblay’s fundamental
impracticality.
D) a point of similarity between Avni and Monsieur
Tremblay.
D) suggest an area of certainty in Avni’s way of
thinking.
5
2
As mentioned in the passage, “Old Montreal”
(line 11) is best understood as
It can be inferred that Avni’s mother wants Avni to
A) an area that Monsieur Tremblay has only recently
seen for the first time.
B) keep in closer touch with the family as a whole.
A) take greater pride in material accomplishment.
C) pursue opportunities that are of little interest to
Avni herself.
B) a site that Monsieur Tremblay has persuaded Avni
to visit.
D) abandon a fear of personal and professional
change.
C) a destination that Avni finds more intriguing than
Saskatchewan or Manitoba.
D) a location that Monsieur Tremblay knows well
enough to describe in some detail.
6
As described in the passage, Avni’s brother interacts
with Avni in a manner notable for its
3
A) cleverness and contempt.
Which choice best captures an important irony related
to the business letters that Monsieur Tremblay sends
Avni?
B) earnestness and incoherence.
C) indirection and vexation.
D) despair and unpredictability.
A) Monsieur Tremblay routinely asks Avni to edit
work that is too well-written to require attention.
B) Monsieur Tremblay normally requests small edits
to documents that are seldom read carefully.
C) Monsieur Tremblay is unaware that his business
letters resemble his casual correspondence.
D) Monsieur Tremblay’s talents as a writer in fact
undermine a few of his business instincts.
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85
CONTINUE
Part 2
Questions 7-12 are based on the following
Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Game
Corrects Children’s Misreading of Emotional
Faces to Tame Irritability,” a 2016 Science
Update article posted* by the National
Institute of Mental Health.
Line
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30
35
45
A computer game that changes a tendency to
misread ambiguous faces as angry is showing
promise as a potential treatment for irritability in
children. The game shifts a child’s judgment for
perceiving ambiguous faces from angry to happy.
In a small pilot study, irritable children who
played it experienced less irritability, accompanied
by changes in activation of mood-related brain
circuitry. Researchers are now following up with a
larger study to confirm its effectiveness.
Melissa Brotman, Ph.D., Ellen Leibenluft,
M.D., Joel Stoddard, M.D., of the NIMH Emotion
and Development Branch, and colleagues,
reported on findings of their pilot study of
“interpretation bias training” for child irritability
online on January 8, 2016 in the Journal of Child
and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.
About 3 percent of youth experience chronic
severe irritability. They are prone to temper
outbursts and are often in a grumpy mood. Parents
complain of having to “walk on eggshells”
to avoid unleashing verbal—and sometimes
physical—outbursts. These behaviors can lead to
problems with friends, with family, and at school.
While irritability is common in disorders
such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder, it is
a core feature of disruptive mood dysregulation
disorder (DMDD), which is associated with risk
for developing mood and anxiety disorders—and
socioeconomic underachievement later in life.
While research suggests that parent training,
psychotherapy, and some medications may
be helpful for severe irritability, there are no
established treatments for DMDD. Evidence
suggests that irritable youth with DMDD tend to
misperceive emotional expressions. Compared
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*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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86
to healthy controls, children with DMDD were
more prone to rate ambiguous faces as angry. So
Leibenluft’s team set out to test interpretation
bias training (IBT), a computer game designed
to diminish irritable children’s tendency to view
ambiguous faces as angry.
Participants rated a continuum of 15
ambiguous faces appearing on a computer monitor
as either happy or angry. After computer training,
the children shifted their ratings toward seeing
some of these ambiguous faces as “happy.” This
effect was maintained for at least 2 weeks and was
associated with decreased irritability, as rated by
parents and by clinicians who interviewed both
parents and children.
Some of these DMDD participants also
performed a face-viewing task while their brain
activity was being measured by functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They
showed activity changes in emotional learning
areas suggesting that the computer-based training
may alter neural responses to emotional faces.
Encouraged by these findings, the researchers
have launched a larger, more controlled study
to learn whether IBT might be effective as
a treatment. They are also testing cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), a talk therapy that aims
to change behaviors in response to frustrating
events. These are among the first non-drug
interventions that seek to help those with DMDD.
Families with affected children can choose to
receive CBT alone, IBT alone, or IBT followed
by CBT. Those who elect IBT will perform most
computer training sessions at home, over the
course of a training program which can last from
3 to 13 weeks. Participants who are interested
in brain scanning will also undergo before-andafter fMRI scans while they are looking at the
same ambiguous faces presented in the training
sessions. The researchers hope these scans will
show changes in brain activity that relate to
symptom improvement following treatment.
“The training may be calming irritability by
altering circuit activity underlying interpretive
biases and—hopefully—reducing anger-based
reactions like outbursts,” said Leibenluft.
CONTINUE
Part 2
10
7
The first paragraph primarily characterizes the
“computer game” (line 1) as
The primary effect of placing the word “happy” in
quotation marks in line 48 is to
A) significantly flawed but capable of being
adjusted.
A) indicate the difficulty of defining a concept.
B) useful as a therapeutic tool but still difficult to
explain in theoretical terms.
C) signal that a designation is questionable.
B) imply that expert testimony is being quoted.
D) allude to a consensus among parents.
C) immensely entertaining but incapable of
countering severe problems.
D) rich with potential but requiring additional
investigation.
11
Which of the following situations suggests that CBT
could be an effective treatment for DMDD?
8
A) Children who discuss their problems with
licensed specialists exhibit relatively low risk of
developing mood disorders.
On the basis of the information present in the passage,
which of the following children most clearly exhibits
symptoms of chronic severe irritability?
B) Children who exhibit DMDD run very little risk
of also developing ADHD.
A) A boy who refuses to talk to his parents any time
that they reprimand him for misbehavior
C) Children whose parents avoid medication-based
therapy are likely to enroll in talk therapy
programs.
B) A boy who vandalizes houses in his neighborhood
with the assistance of his friends
D) Children whose parents took medication to
treat DMDD run a relatively low risk of
developing DMDD themselves.
C) A boy who screams at his parents when asked to
perform his assigned chores
D) A boy who has difficulty making friends despite
attending a small school
12
According to the passage, fMRI scans may be useful
as a means of
9
Leibenluft’s initial experiment was structured with the
goal of evaluating
A) clarifying the dangers that can attend drug-based
psychotherapy methods.
A) how much two comparable disorders overlap.
B) exploring how children with ADHD deal with
stress as they mature.
B) whether a computer game can serve an
educational purpose.
C) determining whether therapy changes brain
circuitry.
C) the role of parenting styles in cognitive
behavioral therapy.
D) comparing the abilities of children who have
overcome DMDD.
D) the effectiveness of interpretation bias training.
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87
CONTINUE
Part 2
Questions 13-18 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Charlotte
Bhaskar, “A New Fossil Lace Bug with
Unusual Antennae Joins the ‘Big’ Club.”
Originally published* in 2015 in Worth a
Thousand Words.
Line
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35
45
Have you ever seen a lace bug? Don’t let
their pretty name fool you—even though they’re
dainty as a doily, they’re tough little bugs. You
may have encountered lace bugs in your garden or
on houseplants, since they’re herbivorous sapdrinkers. Though they only feed on plants, their
bite can sting!
Named for their translucent delicate wings,
little lace bugs make up the big family Tingidae
within the order Hemiptera. Currently, there are
over 2100 species of lace bugs living all over
Earth. This globetrotting goes way back: Places
as diverse as the Dominican Republic, Paris, and
Myanmar all have amber deposits containing lace
bug fossils from millions of years ago.
Most recently, as described in a study in PLOS
ONE, scientists found four male lace bugs in the
Eocene Green River Formation, a group of basins
with exceptional fossil deposits in Colorado, Utah,
and Wyoming.
These fossilized lace bugs are unusual for their
remarkable preservation and flashy golf clubshaped antennae.
Their unusual antennae led the authors to
suspect that they had a totally new species of lace
bug on their hands. It can be difficult to categorize
a new species, though—especially when looking
at fossils. Time renders DNA, proteins, and other
biological material low quality, making it often
impossible to use common genetic or molecular
tools.
Using phylogenetic analysis, which enables
researchers to look at evolutionary links between
organisms to determine relationships between
ancestors and descendants, the authors were still
able to assess the relationship of these fossils with
other living and fossilized Tingidae species. In
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*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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88
this case, instead of using genetic material, the
authors compared physical characteristics of these
fossils with other known Tingidae specimens.
The results of this detective work? The
authors classified these fossils as a new species,
Gyaclavator kohlsi. Since it’s hard to miss the
antennae on these guys, the authors constructed
their genus name from a combination of the terms
Gyas, who was a mythical giant from the Aeneid,
and clavator, Latin for “club”.
The authors of this study suspect Gyaclavator’s
showy antenna may be a rare fossil example
of a visual display structure that could have
played a role in mate attraction. In other words,
Gyaclavator might have used its antennae like
a male peacock uses its striking tail feathers: to
advertise its appeal as a capable, healthy mate.
The authors also speculate that Gyaclavator
may have used its antennae as part of male-male
competition, in the same way that male deer fight
over resources using their antlers. Scientists have
not found any other examples of lace bugs from
the present or past that have features like these
spectacular antennae.
However, other Hemiptera members do
show similar enlarged physical structures akin
to Gyaclavator’s fancy antennae. Some species
of leaf-footed bugs from the Coreidae family,
for example, have large, petal-shaped antennae
segments. They wave their conspicuous antennae
through the air as part of a display that seems to
function both in courtship as well as male-male
competition.
It seems possible that Gyaclavator may have
used its specialized antennae in a similar fashion,
though it’s hard to say for certain. Whatever
function Gyaclavator’s club-shaped antennae
performed, it’s clear this little lace bug marched to
the beat of its own drum.
CONTINUE
Part 2
13
16
In the first paragraph, the words “pretty” and “dainty”
primarily have the effect of
The author presents the imagery of “a male peacock”
(line 53) and “male deer” (line 57) in order to
A) establishing contrasts involving characteristics of
lace bugs.
A) challenge an earlier depiction of lace bugs as
fragile.
B) construing the topic matter of the passage as
ultimately trifling.
B) clarify a few plausible Gyaclavator behaviors.
C) critiquing the reader’s method of interpretation as
irrational.
D) draw analogies that reference various zoological
experiments.
C) add humor to an unusually technical analysis.
D) paraphrasing a pair of seemingly antagonistic
opinions.
17
One possible similarity between Gyaclavator and
“other Hemiptera members” (line 62) involves
14
As characterized in the passage, the Eocene Green
River Formation is
A) the male-dominated nature of their typical
interactions.
A) an important landmark in a lightly populated area.
B) the use of antennae in mating and competition.
B) a site that has yielded a surprisingly large number
of lace bug specimens.
C) their ability to adjust to resource scarcity.
D) the prominence of massive and club-shaped
antennae.
C) a promising place to search for the remains of
ancient life.
D) a location that was of little scientific interest
before it was discovered to contain insect
remains.
18
The main purpose of the final paragraph is to
A) depart from the informal tone present elsewhere
in the passage.
15
It can be inferred from the passage that the newlydiscovered lace bugs were difficult to classify as a
new species because
B) reject a group of well-publicized explanations.
A) the lace bugs did not resemble any living insects.
D) highlight a point that has not been fully resolved.
C) connect an important topic to a seemingly
insignificant detail.
B) past attempts to categorize lace bugs have
resulted in incompatible classification systems.
C) genetic methods of species identification are best
adapted to living and recently-deceased animals.
D) amber fossilization warps the DNA signature of a
fossilized organism.
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89
CONTINUE
Part 2
Questions 19-24 are based on the
following History passage.
40
The following passage is adapted from Helen
Hamilton Gardener, “Woman as an Annex.”
This essay appeared in Gardener’s book
Facts and Fictions of Life (1893).
Line
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45
It is the fashion in this country now-a-days
to say that women are treated as equals. Some
of the most progressive and best of men truly
believe what they say in this regard. One of
our leading daily papers, which insists that
this is true, and even goes so far as to say that
American gentlemen believe in and act upon the
theory that their mothers and daughters are of
a superior quality—and are always of the very
first consideration to and by men—recently had
an editorial headlined “Universal Suffrage the
Birthright of the Free Born.” I read it through, and
if you will believe me, the writer had so large a
bump of sex arrogance that he never once thought
of one-half of humanity in the entire course of
an elaborate and eloquent two-column article!
“Universal” suffrage did not touch but one sex.
There was but one sex “free born.” There was
but one which was born with “rights.” The words
“persons,” “citizens,” “residents of the state,”
and all similar terms were used quite freely, but
not once did it dawn upon the mind of the writer
that every one of those words, every argument
for freedom, every plea for liberty and justice,
equality and right, applied to the human race and
not merely to one-half of that race.
Sex bias, sex arrogance, sex pride, sex
assumption is so ingrained that it simply does
not occur to the male logicians, scientists,
philosophers and politicians that there is a
humanity. They see, think of and argue for and
about only a sex of man—with an annex to
him—woman. They call this the race; but they do
not mean the race—they mean men. They write
and talk of “human beings;” of their needs, their
education, their capacity and development; but
they are not thinking of humanity at all. They
are thinking of, planning for and executing plans
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which subordinate the race—the human entity—
to a subdivision, the mark and sign of which
is the lowest and most universal possession of
male nature—the mere procreative instinct and
possibility. And this has grown to be the habit of
thought until in science, in philosophy, in religion,
in law, in politics—one and all—we must translate
all language into other terms than those used. For
the word “universal” we must read “male;” for
the “people,” the “nation,” we must read “men.”
The “will of the majority—majority rule”—
really means the larger number of masculine
citizens. And so with all our common language,
it is in a false tense. It is mere democratic verbal
gymnastics, clothing the same old monarchial,
aristocratic mental beliefs, with man now the
“divine right” ruler and with woman his subject
and perquisite. Its gender is misstated and its
import multiplied by two. It does not mean what it
says, and it does not say what it means.
Our thoughts are adjusted to false verbal forms,
and so the thoughts do not ring true. They are
merely hereditary forms of speech. All masculine
thought and expression up to the present time
has been in the language of sex, and not in the
language of race; and so it has come about that
the music of humanity has been set in one key and
played on one chord.
It has been well said that an Englishman cannot
speak French correctly until he has learned to
think in French. It is far more true that no one
can speak or write the language of human liberty
and equality until he has learned to think in that
language, and to feel without stopping to argue
with himself, that right is not masculine only and
that justice knows no sex.
CONTINUE
Part 2
22
19
Gardener explains that the rule of the majority is
Gardener primarily criticizes the writer of the
“editorial” (line 11) for exhibiting
A) infamous for gradually depriving women of their
few existing rights.
A) contempt for women who embrace household
roles.
B) influential under most forms of monarchical
government.
B) incomprehension of the history of women’s
suffrage.
C) often protested against as a force that oppresses
both men and women.
C) an eagerness to harm the cause of women’s
rights.
D) not necessarily representative of the majority of
women.
D) a presumptuous and narrow perspective on
politics.
23
20
Which of the following terms best reflects the idea or
concept indicated by the “key” (line 65) and “chord”
(line 66)?
On the basis of the passage, Gardener would regard
the qualities mentioned in lines 24-25 (“freedom . . .
right”) as
A) Fortitude
A) signs of integrity that few men actually manifest.
B) Limitation
B) meaningful goals that have been pursued mainly
by remarkable women.
C) Honesty
D) Rebellion
C) important concepts that most male writers avoid
mentioning.
D) worthwhile principles that men understand in a
flawed manner.
24
Which of the following examples would most clearly
stand in opposition to Gardener’s line of reasoning in
the final paragraph?
21
A) Educated commentators who understand their
own cultures often make poor assessments of
foreign cultures.
In lines 27-46 (“Sex bias . . . used”), Gardener argues
that men’s ideas about gender have become
A) irreversible.
B) People who come from different nations often
develop similar ideas about democracy.
B) automatic.
C) Representative governments can become
provincial and oppressive over time.
C) abstract.
D) incoherent.
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
D) Tyrannical leaders have written convincing
defenses of democracy and personal liberty.
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CONTINUE
Part 2
Questions 25-30 are based on the
following Fiction passage.
This passage is adapted from Vandover and
the Brute (1914) by Frank Norris.
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As he looked back over his life, Vandover
could recall nothing after this, his mother’s death,
for nearly five years. Even after that lapse of time
the only scene he could picture with any degree
of clearness was one of the greatest triviality in
which he saw himself, a rank thirteen-year-old
boy, sitting on a bit of carpet in the back yard of
the San Francisco house playing with his guineapigs.
In order to get at his life during his teens,
Vandover would have been obliged to collect
these scattered memory pictures as best he could,
rearrange them in some more orderly sequence,
piece out what he could imperfectly recall and
fill in the many gaps by mere guesswork and
conjecture.
It was the summer of 1880 that they had come
to San Francisco. Once settled there, Vandover’s
father began to build small residence houses and
cheap flats which he rented at various prices,
the cheapest at ten dollars, the more expensive
at thirty-five and forty. He had closed out his
business in the East, coming out to California on
account of his wife’s ill health. He had made his
money in Boston and had intended to retire.
But he soon found that he could not do this.
At this time he was an old man, nearly sixty. He
had given his entire life to his business to the
exclusion of everything else, and now when his
fortune had been made and when he could afford
to enjoy it, discovered that he had lost the capacity
for enjoying anything but the business itself.
Nothing else could interest him. He was not what
would be called in America a rich man, but he had
made money enough to travel, to allow himself
any reasonable relaxation, to cultivate a taste for
art, music, literature, or the drama, to indulge in
any harmless fad, such as collecting etchings,
china, or bric-à-brac, or even to permit himself
the luxury of horses. In the place of all these he
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found himself, at nearly sixty years of age, forced
again into the sordid round of business as the only
escape from the mortal ennui and weariness of the
spirit that preyed upon him during every leisure
hour of the day.
Early and late he went about the city,
personally superintending the building of his little
houses and cheap flats, sitting on saw-horses and
piles of lumber, watching the carpenters at work.
In the evening he came home to a late supper,
completely fagged, bringing with him the smell of
mortar and of pine shavings.
On the first of each month when his agents
turned over the rents to him he was in great spirits.
He would bring home the little canvas sack of
coin with him before banking it, and call his son’s
attention to the amount, never failing to stick a
twenty-dollar gold-piece in each eye, monocle
fashion, exclaiming, “Good for the masses,” a
meaningless jest that had been one of the family’s
household words for years.
His plan of building was peculiar. His credit
was good, and having chosen his lot he would
find out from the banks how much they would
loan him upon it in case he should become the
owner. If this amount suited him, he would buy
the lot, making one large payment outright and
giving his note for the balance. The lot once his,
the banks loaned him the desired amount. With
this money and with money of his own he would
make the final payment on the lot and would
begin the building itself, paying his labour on the
nail, but getting his material, lumber, brick, and
fittings on time. . . . Real estate was flourishing
in the rapidly growing city, and the new houses,
although built so cheaply that they were mere
shells of lath and plaster, were nevertheless made
gay and brave with varnish and cheap mill-work.
They rented well at first; scarcely a one was ever
vacant. People spoke of the Old Gentleman as one
of the most successful realty owners in the city. So
pleased did he become with the success of his new
venture that in course of time all his money was
reinvested after this fashion.
CONTINUE
Part 2
28
25
The narrator presents the “scene” described in
lines 3-9 as
As described in lines 46-52, Vandover’s father takes
the position of
A) uncharacteristically vivid compared to
Vandover’s other memories.
A) a discontented participant.
B) closely related to events surrounding the death of
Vandover’s mother.
C) a relentless enforcer.
B) a conscientious spectator.
D) a gifted dabbler.
C) indistinct compared to Vandover’s recollections
of his father’s business enterprises.
D) influential in shaping Vandover’s ideas about
society and ambition generally.
29
Which of the following situations most closely
resembles the situation depicted in lines 53-61 (“On
the . . . years”)?
26
A) A lawyer good-naturedly pokes fun at the
procedures followed by judges and juries during a
family dinner.
The second and third paragraphs (lines 10-25) serve
to transition from
A) criticisms of Vandover’s father to a more
affectionate tone towards this character.
B) A doctor gathers his children for an intensive
discussion of the ethical flaws that he perceives in
modern medicine.
B) Vandover’s patchy ideas about Boston to his
fascination with San Francisco.
C) An orator interrupts a serious analysis to
impersonate his main opponents.
C) reflections on Vandover’s past to speculations
about Vandover’s future.
D) A celebrated biologist reaches a broad audience
by producing accessible and humorous videos.
D) Vandover’s perspective to the activities of
Vandover’s father.
30
27
The final paragraph of the passage primarily serves to
It can be inferred from the passage that Vandover’s
father regards the possibility of retiring from the
world of business as
A) foreshadow a few of the eventual problems with a
method adopted by Vandover’s father.
B) elaborate upon business practices that helped
Vandover’s father achieve respect.
A) subtly tantalizing.
B) profoundly undesirable.
C) paraphrase Vandover’s own ideas about the value
of his father’s business methods.
C) dangerously energizing.
D) prompt new questions about whether Vandover’s
father influenced the business community in a
worthwhile manner.
D) entertainingly laughable.
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Part 2
Questions 31-36 are based on the
following Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The
Dreams Ideas Are Made Of” (2014) by
Alex Camarota. Originally published* in
InventorsEye, a newsletter of the United
States Patent and Trademark Office.
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The Internet is brimming with stories about
inventions and discoveries that appeared
in dreams. Einstein is said to have begun
contemplating the theory of relativity after
dreaming about cows when he was a teenager.
There’s also the story of Elias Howe, inventor
of the sewing machine, who got the idea for a
needle with the eye at its tip after dreaming about
an incident involving spear-wielding cannibals.
The list of dream-born creations goes on and on,
from the lyrics of famous songs to the molecular
structures for common chemicals. . .
Inventors Eye’s most recent spark of genius,
Kim Meckwood, also got the idea for her Click &
Carry in a dream. She needed to solve the problem
of carrying multiple bags of groceries up long
flights of stairs to her apartment, and that’s exactly
what she did. But for Meckwood, getting ideas
while asleep is nothing new. She said dreaming
is a way for her to process her thoughts and
allow ideas to percolate and rise to the surface.
As it turns out, this is also what some experts say
dreaming is all about.
Most dreaming occurs during rapid eye
movement (REM), the period of sleep when the
eyes erratically dart to and fro beneath the eyelids.
REM sleep is also marked by increased brain
activity. Various theories (none of which have a
consensus in the scientific community) attempt
to explain the purpose of dreaming and REM.
According to one, REM is the result of the brain
processing and organizing the day’s thoughts,
sights, and sounds. In this way, dreams might
be a way for us to contemplate things that we
are unable to or unwilling to contemplate during
waking hours—or a way for us to finally grasp the
solution to a problem that puzzled us.
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*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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Aside from the occasional dream, inventors
get their ideas in many different ways. While
stories of invention often start with a common
problem that needs fixing, the way inventors
arrive at the solution can be varied. Most solutions
are the result of trial and error, thinking and
perseverance—like the Wright Brothers’ flying
machine. Others still are the result of mere
accident—Post-It Notes and vulcanized rubber
were stumbled upon while their inventors were
pursuing a different angle. And then there is the
proverbial light bulb moment, when inspiration
feels so new and disruptive it seems almost
miraculous. But there’s a rub: it turns out a lot
of good ideas are really just additions to, or new
directions taken from, already existing ideas.
One thing is clear: innovation happens
in increments. Even during today’s rapid
technological expansion, most new mindboggling
creations are the result of teams of researchers
and engineers analyzing previous devices and
processes, and figuring out how to make them
better. Even independent inventors solving
everyday problems are adding their own ideas to
ones that already exist. Invention does not occur
in a vacuum.
This collaborative system of productivity
is common today, but that wasn’t always the
case. Ideas have not always had free reign to
intermingle and bounce off each other. In fact,
some experts, including notable science and
technology writer Steven Johnson, credit the
arrival of a truly collaborative “marketplace
of ideas” to something that many of us take a
warming to: coffee.
First appearing on the European continent in
the mid-1600s, coffee houses quickly took hold
as everyone from noblemen to street sweepers
clamored in for a caffeine kick. The result, says
Johnson, was that people from all walks of life
began mingling and rubbing shoulders. Naturally,
so did their ideas. Coffee houses were gathering
places to talk about every subject, from politics
and philosophy to science and technology. The
collaborative environment that sprung up in
European coffee houses in the 17th century gave
CONTINUE
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rise to what became known as the Enlightenment,
itself leading to scientific and technological
revolutions and even the modern patent system. . .
Every time an inventor receives a patent, he
or she adds to the archive of mankind’s collective
good ideas. Patents force new ideas to enter the
marketplace and replace or improve the old. The
state of the art advances, and the process repeats
itself ad infinitum. You might even say that the
patent system is the coffee house of intellectual
property, where inventors and their inventions
come together to mingle and learn and take new
directions.
So go ahead: have another cup of Joe, but
always remember to dream.
32
Which of the following findings would contradict
the ideas about REM and dreaming present in the
passage?
A) REM sleep has been definitively linked to the
objective of reducing stress.
B) Dreams that arise during REM sleep are harder to
remember than dreams from other sleep stages.
C) Humans developed REM sleep over time to serve
a practical function that remains mysterious.
D) A few brain areas exhibit only minor increases in
activity during REM sleep.
31
33
The author of the passage mentions Einstein and Elias
Howe as examples of innovators whose
One example of an invention arrived at by “mere
accident” (lines 45-46) as understood by the author
would be
A) idiosyncratic personalities were reflected both in
dreams and in inventions.
A) an synthetic fabric that originated from a
needlessly complex prototype.
B) ideas were not entirely interchangeable with the
dreams that inspired them.
B) a glue that was discovered while its inventor was
attempting to create a new rocket fuel.
C) most important discoveries resulted from wellcoordinated sleep and relaxation regimens.
C) a shower head that was adapted from a similar
device once used by soldiers in combat zones.
D) accomplishments may seem ridiculous in relation
to their dreams.
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D) a chemical coating that protects car tires from
being punctured and is also found to prevent
rubber from cracking under low temperatures.
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Part 2
Questions 37-42 are based on the
following Science passage.
34
The author mentions “technological expansion”
(line 56) and “independent inventors” (line 60) in
order to
This passage is adapted from “NIH
researchers discover highly infectious vehicle
for transmission of viruses among humans,”
a 2018 news release* from the National
Institutes of Health.
A) praise the pioneering spirit of figures mentioned
earlier.
B) caution that current optimism about the pace of
invention may not be justified.
C) outline an approach that is reliant on community
and continuity.
Line
D) assert that an individualistic perspective has often
harmed inventors.
5
35
10
One repercussion of the popularization of coffee
houses was
A) the creation of merchant fellowships that
financially supported practical inventions.
15
B) the replacement of traditional ideas about the
sources of genius.
C) closer contact of individuals from different social
classes.
20
D) upheavals that re-structured vast political
systems.
25
36
The author’s attitude toward the “modern patent
system” (line 86) is best described as
A) defensive.
30
B) disbelieving.
C) forgiving.
D) supportive.
35
Researchers have found that a group of viruses
that cause severe stomach illness—including
the one famous for widespread outbreaks
on cruise ships—get transmitted to humans
through membrane-cloaked “virus clusters” that
exacerbate the spread and severity of disease.
Previously, it was believed that these viruses
only spread through individual virus particles.
The discovery of these clusters, the scientists
say, marks a turning point in the understanding
of how these viruses spread and why they are
so infectious. This preliminary work could lead
to the development of more effective antiviral
agents than existing treatments that mainly target
individual particles.
The researchers studied norovirus and
rotavirus—hard-to-treat viruses that are the
most common cause of stomach illness, or
gastroenteritis, and that afflict millions of
people each year. The viruses cause symptoms
ranging from diarrhea to abdominal pain and can
sometimes result in death, particularly among
young children and the elderly. Their highly
contagious nature has led to serious outbreaks in
crowded spaces throughout many communities,
most notably in cruise ships, daycare centers,
classrooms, and nursing homes. Fortunately,
vaccines against rotavirus are now available and
are routinely given to babies in the United States.
“This is a really exciting finding in the field
of virology because it reveals a mode of virus
spread that has not been observed among humans
and animals,” said study leader Nihal AltanBonnet, Ph.D., senior investigator and head of
the Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Dynamics at
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI). “We hope that it will provide new clues
to fighting a wide range of diseases involving
many types of viruses, including those that cause
gastrointestinal illnesses, heart inflammation,
certain respiratory illnesses, and even the common
cold.”
The study was supported in part by the
Intramural Research programs of the NHLBI and
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID), both part of the National
Institutes of Health. It is featured as the cover
story of Cell Host & Microbe and appears online
on August 8.
Until a few years ago, most scientists believed
that viruses, particularly those responsible
for stomach illnesses, could only behave as
independent infectious agents. However, in 2015
Altan-Bonnet and her colleagues showed that
polioviruses could transmit themselves in packets,
or membrane-bound vesicles containing multiple
virus particles. The scientists compared this new
model of viral transmission to a Trojan horse: a
group of membrane-bound viruses arrives at a
host cell and deposits viruses in the cell while
dodging detection by the immune system. The
scientists did not know whether this system
applied to animals and humans, or how effective
these packets were in infecting host cells.
To find out, they focused on rotaviruses
and noroviruses, which mainly get spread
through accidental ingestion of tiny particles
of an infected person’s stool—through, for
example, contaminated food or liquids. The
researchers obtained fecal samples of humans
and animals (pigs and mice) and found that the
viruses are shed in the stool as virus clusters
inside membrane-bound packets. In addition,
they found that these virus-containing vesicles
were significantly more infectious than the free,
unbound viruses within the samples.
The researchers determined that the high level
of infectiousness was likely due to the vesicles
delivering many viruses at once to the target
tissues; protecting their viral cargo from being
destroyed by prolonged exposure to enzymes; and
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possibly by making their viral cargo invisible to
the antibodies that are in the stool or gut of the
host. More studies are needed, but the extreme
potency of the virus packets, they said, has a
clear consequence: it not only enhances the
virus’ ability to spread more aggressively; it also
increases the severity of the disease it causes.
Handwashing with soap and water helps prevent
the spread of viruses.
“Our findings indicate that vesicle-cloaked
viruses are highly virulent units of fecal-oral
transmission, and highlight a need for antivirals
targeting vesicles and virus clustering,” AltanBonnet noted.
37
The “discovery” (line 9) described in the first
paragraph is notable for
A) rendering an approach useless.
B) popularizing a new discipline.
C) overturning an earlier belief.
D) spurring scholarly debate.
38
According to the passage, which of the following
individuals is mostly likely to be suffering from
“norovirus” (line 16) or “rotavirus” (line 17)?
A) A three year-old who has received regular
anti-viral vaccinations since birth
B) A five year-old whose family has intentionally
avoided any form of vaccination
C) A thirty year-old man who has recently missed a
round of scheduled vaccinations
D) A sixty year-old woman who receives anti-viral
vaccinations more often than is necessary
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Part 2
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41
In the third paragraph (lines 30-42), Altan-Bonnet’s
comments primarily convey a tone of
Which of the following is NOT, on the basis of the
passage, a possible way in which virus packets are
especially dangerous?
A) tactful detachment.
A) Antibody and enzyme resistance
B) abiding skepticism.
B) Over-reaction by the immune system
C) confrontational excitement.
C) Presence of multiple virus types
D) enthusiastic optimism.
D) Fast-paced dispersion and infection
40
42
Which of the following is a relatively new discovery
that the passage explicitly links to Altan-Bonnet’s
research?
The author of the passage mentions “Handwashing”
(line 89) as an example of
A) Viruses that are linked to instances of polio can
be transported in clusters.
A) an underestimated piece of good advice.
B) Antibodies can easily mistake clustered viruses
for healthy cells.
C) a topic for future examination.
B) an insufficiently rigorous practice.
D) a recommended preventative measure.
C) Noroviruses and rotaviruses require regular
vaccination for successful treatment.
D) Humans are more vulnerable than other animals
are to viruses that cause stomach ailments.
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Part 2
Questions 43-48 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from “The Theory of
Social Revolutions” (1913) by Brooks Adams.
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30
35
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45
The same acceleration of the social movement
which has caused this centralization of capital
has caused the centralization of another form of
human energy, which is its negative: labor unions
organize labor as a monopoly. Labor protests
against the irresponsible sovereignty of capital, as
men have always protested against irresponsible
sovereignty, declaring that the capitalistic social
system, as it now exists, is a form of slavery. Very
logically, therefore, the abler and bolder labor
agitators proclaim that labor levies actual war
against society, and that in that war there can be
no truce until irresponsible capital has capitulated.
Also, in labor’s methods of warfare the same
phenomena appear as in the autocracy of capital.
Labor attacks capitalistic society by methods
beyond the purview of the law, and may, at any
moment, shatter the social system, while, under
our laws and institutions, society is helpless.
Few persons, I should imagine, who reflect
on these phenomena, fail to admit to themselves,
whatever they may say publicly, that present
social conditions are unsatisfactory, and I take
the cause of the stress to be that which I have
stated. We have extended the range of applied
science until we daily use infinite forces, and
those forces must, apparently, disrupt our society,
unless we can raise the laws and institutions
which hold society together to an energy and
efficiency commensurate to them. How much
vigor and ability would be required to accomplish
such a work may be measured by the experience
of Washington, who barely prevailed in his
relatively simple task, surrounded by a generation
of extraordinary men, and with the capitalistic
class of America behind him. Without the
capitalistic class he must have failed. Therefore
one most momentous problem of the future is the
attitude which capital can or will assume in this
emergency.
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That some of the more sagacious of the
capitalistic class have preserved that instinct
of self-preservation which was so conspicuous
among men of the type of Washington is apparent
from the position taken by the management
of the United States Steel Company, and by
the Republican minority of the Congressional
Committee which recently investigated the Steel
Company; but whether such men very strongly
influence the genus to which they belong is
not clear. If they do not, much improvement in
existing conditions can hardly be anticipated.
If capital insists upon continuing to
exercise sovereign powers, without accepting
responsibility as for a trust, the revolt against the
existing order must probably continue, and that
revolt can only be dealt with, as all servile revolts
must be dealt with, by physical force. I doubt,
however, if even the most ardent and optimistic
of capitalists would care to speculate deeply
upon the stability of any government capital
might organize, which rested on the fundamental
principle that the American people must be ruled
by an army. On the other hand any government
to be effective must be strong. It is futile to talk
of keeping peace in labor disputes by compulsory
arbitration, if the government has not the power
to command obedience to its arbitrators’ decree;
but a government able to constrain a couple
of hundred thousand discontented railway
employees to work against their will, must differ
considerably from the one we have. Nor is it
possible to imagine that labor will ever yield
peaceful obedience to such constraint, unless
capital makes equivalent concessions,—unless,
perhaps, among other things, capital consents
to erect tribunals which shall offer relief to any
citizen who can show himself to be oppressed by
the monopolistic price. In fine, a government, to
promise stability in the future, must apparently be
so much more powerful than any private interest,
that all men will stand equally before its tribunals;
and these tribunals must be flexible enough to
reach those categories of activity which now lie
beyond legal jurisdiction. If it be objected that
the American people are incapable of an effort so
CONTINUE
Part 2
90
prodigious, I readily admit that this may be true,
but I also contend that the objection is beside the
issue. What the American people can or cannot do
is a matter of opinion, but that social changes are
imminent appears to be almost certain. Though
these changes cannot be prevented, possibly they
may, to a degree, be guided, as Washington guided
the changes of 1789.
45
Which piece of information would most effectively
support Adams’s statements about George
Washington in lines 30-37 (“How . . . failed”)?
A) Poorer Americans became enthusiastic supporters
of Washington despite early opposition to his
ideology.
B) Washington’s initial approach to economic policy
was abandoned early in his administration.
43
In the first paragraph, Adams discusses the labor
movement by
C) Aristocratic and merchant families in Europe
were generally supportive of Washington’s
government.
A) acknowledging both its practical motives and the
threats that it poses.
D) Washington’s most trusted advisors all possessed
considerable amounts of land and family wealth.
B) mentioning the virtues of its leaders while
dismissing their perceived failings.
C) implying that conflict between labor and capital is
a greater threat to society than actual warfare is.
D) citing a policy that indicates the movement’s
unprecedented nature.
46
Adams argues that “improvement in existing
conditions” (lines 51-52) depends upon
A) the formation of new committees to regulate
industrial activity.
44
B) the voluntary redistribution of wealth by
influential households.
Adams’s use of the word “we” in the second
paragraph (lines 20-40) primarily serves to
C) the ability of those with loyalties to business to
set well-considered priorities.
A) counter the mis-perception that he is sympathetic
to business interests.
D) the speed with which the largest businesses can
re-organize their operations.
B) call upon his audience to disregard regional and
cultural differences.
C) define a group that should promote constructive
social change.
D) inspire pride in and identification with a nation’s
political past.
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48
On the basis of the final paragraph, which of
the following would Adams view as an unstable
government?
It can be inferred that Adams views the “American
people” (lines 86 and 89) as
A) An oligarchy in which an unpopular group of
aristocrats maintains its power by funding a
private military.
B) unaware of a pivotal social change.
A) responsive to the use of coercion.
C) faced with momentous consequences.
D) willing to be guided by history.
B) A monarchy in which the ruling family is widely
loved by the populace but despised by military
leaders.
C) A republic in which voting rights are only granted
to those citizens who hold a set amount of
household wealth.
D) A democracy in which most citizens can vote but
in which only the richest citizens exercise this
right.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 102.
Do not turn to any other section.
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101
Answer Key
Passage Details
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
B
D
A
D
C
C
D
C
D
C
A
C
A
C
C
B
B
D
D
D
B
D
B
D
Passage 5
Passage 6
Passage 7
Passage 8
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48
A
D
B
B
A
B
B
A
B
C
C
D
C
B
D
A
B
D
A
C
D
C
A
C
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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102
Part 3
Command of
Evidence
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 3
Command of Evidence
Question Fundamentals
On each SAT Reading section, you will find roughly 10 questions with answer choices that are not statements
or phrases; instead, the possible answers will be line references that fit an objective designated by the question
prompt. These are your Command of Evidence questions, as defined by the College Board’s test structure.
Yet the official breakdown, here, is not especially helpful, since a large number of these 10 questions will be
LINKED to other questions that must be solved in conjunction with them—questions that look like Passage
Details questions but that can become unmanageable if solved in isolation.
Realistically, you can expect a maximum of 20 questions—some Single, some Paired—that require one of the
Command of Evidence strategies outlined in this chapter. In some ways, the task is not too different from what
you are accustomed to from working with Passage Details. You must still pay attention to key words, and must
still rely on process of elimination. However, you should NOT spend time predicting answers when working
with Command of Evidence. There is no need to, since—as the Single Command of Evidence questions
reveal—all of the information that you need is contained in consolidated line references.
Single Command of Evidence
The questions classified under Single Command of Evidence consist of nothing more than a question prompt
followed by four possible line references. Your task, with these, is simply to decide which of the given line
references fits an objective or topic (“Which line reference indicates . . . ”; “Which line reference provides the
best evidence that . . . ”) that is explicitly stated. In fact, you may remember questions of this sort from the
Diagnostic Test.
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Part 3: Command of Evidence
9
12
Which choice best supports the idea that Dymov
values pursuits that he does not fully comprehend?
Which choice best indicates that Ready’s work on
food networks in Kangiqsujuaq had few effective or
meaningful precedents?
A) Lines 66-68 (“I have . . . the arts”)
A) Lines 16-19 (“However . . . studied”)
B) Lines 70-72 (“Your . . . with it”)
B) Lines 23-26 (“Therefore . . . risk”)
C) Lines 72-77 (“I don’t . . . use”)
C) Lines 39-41 (“From . . . community”)
D) Lines 77-79 (“I don’t . . . them”)
D) Lines 71-73 (“Ready’s . . . shocks”)
Conscientious work with these questions can help you to build attention to small details and specific objectives.
Still, there are a few realities of Single Command of Evidence questions that should be pointed out, in terms
of prevalence and reception.
1. Some test takers find these considerably EASIER than Paired Command of Evidence questions
2. Some tests feature VERY FEW Single Command of Evidence questions
In some ways, indeed, Single Command of Evidence can appear to be relatively low-priority. These questions
are nonetheless excellent training for the methods that you will need to approach the most difficult Paired
Command of Evidence items.
Core Strategy: Single
1. Read the Prompt to determine ALL topics and ideas that the correct answer requires
2. Bracket the first line reference and read it carefully, checking again for all needed items
3. KEEP the reference if all items are present, or ELIMINATE if one or more are absent
4. Repeat for all line references until Process of Elimination yields the correct answer
The trick to working with Single Command of Evidence is to place an intense focus on EXACTLY what the
prompt demands, content-wise. Often, trap answers will contain only one part of the required content, and
some of the answers that can be eliminated most easily will refer to totally irrelevant parts of the passage.
Do not over-think any of this: your entire task is to match item to item, perhaps with some paraphrasing and
logical inference.
To see how the process works, consider the analysis of Question 9 that appears on the next page.
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Part 3: Command of Evidence
9
Which choice best supports the idea that Dymov
values pursuits that he does not fully comprehend?
A) Lines 66-68 (“I have . . . the arts”) . . . . . . . . . . . . About Dymov, but NOT about incomprehension X
B) Lines 70-72 (“Your . . . with it”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Dymov’s lenience towards friends X
C) Lines 72-77 (“I don’t . . . use”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “I don’t understand . . . sensible” CORRECT
D) Lines 77-79 (“I don’t . . . them”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About incomprehension but NOT about value X
In this question, each of the false answers refers to the appropriate character, Dymov, and references his
opinions in some way. The real trick is that the false answers reference only a few of the needed items, while
the correct answer will refer to both “pursuits” that Dymov values (positive) and a sense of incomprehension
(negative). A does not capture the incomprehension theme, B refers primarily to a different quality (lenience),
and D does not reflect the sense of “valuing” pursuits. C, however, properly indicates that Dymov values those
who engage in pursuits that he does not “understand” as “sensible” and is thus a perfect fit.
This process is not especially difficult, but requires you to be extremely demanding when searching for
evidence—and to avoid mis-readings and over-interpretations of the passage at all costs. Just remember that
an answer that contains part of what you need, yet avoids a key piece of content, must be AUTOMATICALLY
eliminated.
Important Tips
You MAY need to draw logical conclusions on the basis of passage information.
•
References: On occasion, a line reference will refer to content from some other portion of the passage.
Check for pronouns (“those,” “it”) and seemingly vague items (“this concept,” “what was once believed to
be true”) and DEFINE THESE ITEMS by reading around. Even if a reference of this sort is oblique, it is
STILL a part of the line reference that should be accounted for when you go to match your line reference
to the topic in the prompt.
•
Inferences: You may, when working with line references, find that the appropriate lines do not provide a
direct paraphrase of topics from the question prompt. Instead, the correct lines may give a statement that
logically yet somewhat indirectly supports the content that you need. For instance, a prompt may ask for
“proof that honeybees do not favor purple flowers.” The line reference may not mention “purple flowers”
directly, but may indicate that “honeybees prefer yellow flowers over all other flower types.” In this case
and in others like it, a logical conclusion—here, that honeybees do not gravitate to “purple flowers” if they
DO gravitate to “yellow flowers”—can be drawn with no dispute or uncertainty.
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Part 3: Command of Evidence
You should ALWAYS double-check to see if the question is Single or Double.
•
A surprisingly large number of students solve Single Command of Evidence by wrongly creating pairings
with previous questions—a tactic that leads to needless confusion and lost points. Simply read the questions
carefully. Note also that some Single questions have prompts that are the same length (two lines) as the
opening to the second component of a Paired question set. Do not breeze past these, and keep in mind that
Single Command of Evidence, though still not as common as Paired Command of Evidence, IS becoming
somewhat more popular on recent SAT tests.
You should NEVER rely completely on a nearby line reference to make your choice.
•
Any line reference that you choose must, at the very least, contain an indirect and logical allusion to the
topic that the prompt requires. If you find that some of the given line references are in the vicinity of
the information that the question calls for—but do NOT fit this requirement—then these line references
should be automatically eliminated. Proximity to a perfect fit line reference does not necessarily make a
line reference correct. Topic, here, is the only standard.
Paired Command of Evidence
The skills that are honed through work with Single Command of Evidence—attention to detail, proficiency in
matching concepts, and aptitude in topic-based process of elimination—all inform the strategies that you will
need to approach the Double Command of Evidence questions. Look for these carefully: whenever you see
the phrase “Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?” or something
highly comparable in a question prompt, you are dealing with this question type, as shown below.
24
25
In describing his research, Raznahan makes use of
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) emphatic language that hints that earlier
researchers were misguided.
A) Lines 23-25 (“An extra . . . brain”)
B) anecdotes and recollections that make his ideas
more accessible to a large audience.
B) Line 54 (“Not all . . . equal”)
C) an analogy that helps to explain a neurological
process central to his inquiry.
D) Lines 74-76 (“Our study . . . brains”)
C) Lines 56-58 (“There’s . . . tissue”)
D) general statements that are meant to spur
meaningful debate.
As in Single Command of Evidence, your first task is to identify exactly what information the question
demands. From there, you should by NO MEANS treat the two questions in isolation. Instead, you will
address them so that the topic for the initial question helps you locate the correct line reference—and so that
the line references help you to address individual answers with high precision.
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Part 3: Command of Evidence
Core Strategy: Paired
1. Read the Prompt to determine ALL topics and ideas that the correct answer requires
(first question)
2. Bracket the first line reference and read it carefully, checking again for all needed items
(second question)
3. KEEP the reference if all items are present, or ELIMINATE if one or more are absent
(second question)
4. Repeat for all line references, and realize that you may need to keep MULTIPLE line
references as appropriate to the prompt (second question)
5. Re-read first remaining line reference, then see if it MATCHES an answer to the
previous question; if not, eliminate (second returning to first)
6. Repeat for all line references, performing process of elimination, until you have a
perfect match between an answer and a line reference (second returning to first)
The successful use of this strategy is premised, naturally, on effective reading comprehension: you must
be able to retain important details and see how the author is connecting ideas WITHOUT subjecting a line
reference to your own interpretation. At first, the most challenging aspect may be the movement that occurs
in steps 5-6. If you are not comfortable simply bracketing and analyzing the line references, try the following
tactics.
1. Circle KEY WORDS in any one line reference to see if they effectively match answer phrases
2. Provide brief SUMMARIES of line references that stay close to the original wording
One danger of mis-reading a line reference is that your mis-reading may appear to justify an incorrect answer.
In this case, you will cost yourself two points on a segment of the test that—with more practiced and effective
reading comprehension—could have become quite simple.
To see how simple, consider how to work through the questions provided on the previous page.
24
In describing his research, Raznahan makes use of
A) emphatic language that hints that earlier
researchers were misguided.
B) anecdotes and recollections that make his ideas
more accessible to a large audience.
C) an analogy that helps to explain a neurological
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Requires a description by Raznahan of his own
research
Temporarily DISREGARD the answers and move
to the line references
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Part 3: Command of Evidence
25
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 23-25 (“An extra . . . brain”)
Description by Raznahan, investment, benefits (KEEP)
B) Line 54 (“Not all . . . equal”)
Description by Raznahan, not all are equal (KEEP)
C) Lines 56-58 (“There’s . . . tissue”)
Description by Raznahan, biological “money” (KEEP)
D) Lines 74-76 (“Our study . . . brains”)
Description by Raznahan, changes, sizes (KEEP)
In this question, ALL of the answers choices refer to descriptions that are relevant to the research project
described in the passage. While elimination is not easy at an early stage, sound comprehension of the line
references will provide a foundation for elimination in the next phase, when the two paired questions must be
approached together.
24
In describing his research, Raznahan makes use of
A) emphatic language that hints that earlier
researchers were misguided.
“misguided” (negative) NO MATCHES
B) anecdotes and recollections that make his ideas
more accessible to a large audience.
“anecdotes and recollections” NO MATCHES
C) an analogy that helps to explain a neurological
process central to his inquiry.
“analogy” matches “money” analogy, CHOICE C
D) general statements that are meant to spur
meaningful debate.
“debate” (possible negative) NO MATCHES
As noted in the answer key to the Diagnostic Test, 24 C and 25 C are the only answers that pair off.
Important Tips
You should CONTINUE to use tone to make these questions workable.
•
As illustrated above, some of the initial answers employ fundamentally incorrect tones. If you have refined
your ability to work with positive and negative tones by working with passage details, continue to use this
skillset to make Paired Command of Evidence questions extremely straightforward.
Make sure to ELIMINATE “partially correct” answers in the initial question.
•
Some of the answers that are “part correct” and “part wrong” (and thus, in reality, wrong) may occur in
the answer choices above the line reference question. Answer 24 D is a good example: there are indeed
general statements in the passage, but the topic of “debate” is NOT explicitly mentioned. Do not think
twice, and simply eliminate any answer with even one clearly false word.
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Part 3
Questions 1-5 are based on the following
Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The Life of Ma
Parker” by Katherine Mansfield. Originally
published in 1921 and later re-printed in
the collection The Garden Party and Other
Stories.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
It would take a whole book to describe the
state of that kitchen. During the week the literary
gentleman “did” for himself. That is to say, he
emptied the tea leaves now and again into a jam
jar set aside for that purpose, and if he ran out of
clean forks he wiped over one or two on the roller
towel. Otherwise, as he explained to his friends,
his “system” was quite simple, and he couldn’t
understand why people made all this fuss about
housekeeping.
“You simply dirty everything you’ve got, get
a hag in once a week to clean up, and the thing’s
done.”
The result looked like a gigantic dustbin. Even
the floor was littered with toast crusts, envelopes,
cigarette ends. But Ma Parker bore him no grudge.
She pitied the poor young gentleman for having
no one to look after him. Out of the smudgy little
window you could see an immense expanse of
sad-looking sky, and whenever there were clouds
they looked very worn, old clouds, frayed at the
edges, with holes in them, or dark stains like tea.
While the water was heating, Ma Parker began
sweeping the floor. “Yes,” she thought, as the
broom knocked, “what with one thing and another
I’ve had my share. I’ve had a hard life.”
Even the neighbours said that of her. Many a
time, hobbling home with her fish bag she heard
them, waiting at the corner, or leaning over the
area railings, say among themselves, “She’s had
a hard life, has Ma Parker.” And it was so true
she wasn’t in the least proud of it. It was just as if
you were to say she lived in the basement-back at
Number 27. A hard life!
At sixteen she’d left Stratford and come up to
London as kitchen-maid. Yes, she was born
in Stratford-on-Avon. Shakespeare, sir? No,
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people were always asking her about him. But
she’d never heard his name until she saw it on the
theatres.
Nothing remained of Stratford except that
“sitting in the fire-place of a evening you could
see the stars through the chimney,” and “Mother
always had her side of bacon, hanging from the
ceiling.” And there was something—a bush,
there was—at the front door, that smelt ever so
nice. But the bush was very vague. She’d only
remembered it once or twice in the hospital, when
she’d been taken bad.
That was a dreadful place—her first place. She
was never allowed out. She never went upstairs
except for prayers morning and evening. It was
a fair cellar. And the cook was a cruel woman.
She used to snatch away Ma’s letters from home
before she’d read them, and throw them in the
range because they made her dreamy. . . .
When that family was sold up she went as
“help” to a doctor’s house, and after two years
there, on the run from morning till night, she
married her husband. He was a baker.
“A baker, Mrs. Parker!” the literary gentleman
would say. For occasionally he laid aside his
tomes and lent an ear, at least, to this product
called Life. “It must be rather nice to be married
to a baker!”
Mrs. Parker didn’t look so sure.
“Such a clean trade,” said the gentleman.
Mrs. Parker didn’t look convinced.
“And didn’t you like handing the new loaves to
the customers?”
“Well, sir,” said Mrs. Parker, “I wasn’t in the
shop above a great deal. We had thirteen little
ones and buried seven of them. If it wasn’t the
hospital it was the infirmary, you might say!”
“You might, indeed, Mrs. Parker!” said the
gentleman, shuddering, and taking up his pen
again.
Yes, seven had gone, and while the six
were still small her husband was taken ill with
consumption. It was flour on the lungs, the doctor
told her at the time
CONTINUE
Part 3
4
1
As described in the passage, the living space
inhabited by the “literary gentleman” is notable
for its
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) decorations that reflect the gentleman’s own
fascination with disorder.
B) Lines 47-49 (“She’d . . . bad”)
A) Lines 36-38 (“Yes . . . him”)
C) Lines 51-53 (“She . . . evening”)
B) air of simplicity as maintained through adherence
to a well-defined routine.
D) Lines 53-55 (“And the . . . them”)
C) state of dinginess and neglect whenever Ma
Parker is absent.
5
D) dramatic signs of the gentleman’s worsening
finances.
Which choice best supports the idea that Ma Parker is
aware of how she is perceived by others?
A) Lines 24-26 (“Yes . . . life”)
2
B) Lines 27-31 (“Many . . . Ma Parker”)
C) Lines 61-64 (“A baker . . . Life”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) Lines 67-68 (“Such . . . convinced”)
A) Lines 3-7 (“That is . . . towel”)
B) Lines 7-10 (“Otherwise . . . housekeeping”)
C) Lines 14-16 (“The result . . . ends”)
D) Lines 16-18 (“But . . . him”)
3
The narrator indicates that Ma Parker’s life before her
employment with the “literary gentleman” was made
unpleasant by
A) Ma Parker’s incomprehension of a particular
allusion.
B) intrusions by one of Ma Parker’s co-workers.
C) Ma Parker’s inability to establish close or
enduring friendships.
D) Ma Parker’s frequent bouts of illness.
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CONTINUE
Part 3
Questions 6-10 are based on the following
Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Creativity
Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting
U.S. Artists,” a report issued* by the National
Endowment for the Arts in 2016.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
New technological tools are expanding the
boundaries of artistic practice and the presence of
art in daily life, as well as the ways people interact
with and consume artistic products and creative
content. Better and less expensive technological
tools are influencing the way that many artists
make work, and where and with whom they make
it. These new mechanisms are fundamentally
altering the cost structure and methods of creating,
distributing, and consuming art, especially in
fields with reproducible products such as music,
writing, photography, and film. Online giving and
crowdsourcing platforms are also changing the
way some artists finance their work.
Widespread access to inexpensive but
highly sophisticated creation tools such as
mobile phone cameras, music and video editing
software, and graphic design programs are
lowering barriers to creating high-quality work
in technology-mediated disciplines. In some
cases new technologies for creation, distribution,
and financing have altered entire fields. For
example, video games used to be very expensive
to make and the risk of failure was high, so
large production companies controlled what got
made and only bet on potential mass market hits.
Now, better and cheaper technology means that
one or two creators can raise the capital they
need through online platforms like Kickstarter
and distribute their games through platforms
like STEAM. This trend has led to an explosion
in experimentation in content and form, and
generated a more diverse range of creators and
audiences.
The ease of access to technological tools and
reduction of cost in using them have also enabled
artists to experiment with using traditionally
consumer-oriented mediums for work that is more
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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oriented toward artistic or social change purposes.
For example, video artist Bill Viola collaborated
with University of Southern California’s Game
Innovation Lab to develop The Night Journey, a
game that explores the topic of enlightenment.
New technologies, such as virtual reality
and 3D printing, are triggering the creation of
entirely new artistic specialties and are spurring
substantial growth in multimedia and crossdiscipline productions. An increasing number
of online platforms designed to facilitate
creative collaborations, such as hitRECord and
SoundCloud, reflect and propel artists’ growing
appetite to collaborate artistically within and
between disciplines.
These mechanisms are being used in a
range of ways. For example, the Disquiet Junto
page on SoundCloud encourages experimental
sound artists to post tracks in response to a
compositional challenge and then exchange
critiques. These tools facilitate artists’ ability
to locate and work with artistic collaborators
from around the world. In addition, technology
is enabling artists to collaborate with people in
other fields to achieve mutual goals. Enspiral, an
online collaboration started by freelance artists
and designers and activists in New Zealand,
now facilitates global collaborations focused on
positive social impacts. Through this mechanism,
artists are collaborating with lawyers, accountants,
lay people, and others to organize, finance, and
realize projects. . . .
“Amateur” photographer Matt Black’s
experience illustrates how technology is making
it possible for new people to enter fields that used
to require expensive equipment, training, and
professional networks. Black’s iPhone images of
poverty in his rural hometown in Central Valley,
California, were picked up and publicized by
MSNBC after he posted them to Instagram. This
led to his receiving the W. Eugene Smith Grant
Award (the “Nobel Prize of journalism”) and a
nomination to join Magnum, the world’s premier
photo agency.
There are many positive benefits of these
developments, but there are downsides to these
CONTINUE
Part 3
85
90
95
100
trends as well. One negative consequence is that
technology enables producers to engage less
expensive talent in other parts of the world. Vijay
Gupta, co-founder of the Street Symphony in Los
Angeles and a first violin for the Los Angeles
Symphony, notes that “work for classically
trained musicians is dwindling” in the U.S.,
and “orchestra jobs in film are moving overseas
because a composer in L.A. can conduct a less
expensive orchestra in Singapore using Skype.”
In fields like music and photography, business
models have been completely disrupted by digital
technology, which has driven down the prices for
content and increased competition, making it ever
harder for professionals in these fields to sustain
careers.
8
Which choice most effectively indicates that
technological change may NOT have an equally
strong impact on all forms of artistic activity?
A) Lines 8-12 (“These . . . film”)
B) Lines 20-22 (“In some . . . fields”)
C) Lines 35-39 (“The ease . . . purposes”)
D) Lines 85-87 (“One negative . . . world”)
9
In the final three paragraphs of the passage (lines 54100), the authors transition from
A) praising various advancements to predicting new
uses for those same advancements.
6
The authors of the passage argue that one outcome of
the growing use of online platforms is
B) comparing a few inspiring stories to presenting a
cautionary anecdote.
A) a willingness among artists to take risks and
embrace innovation.
C) recording public enthusiasm for a trend to
sympathizing with a new perspective.
D) noting satisfying outcomes to calling attention to
a group of liabilities.
B) the creation of social networking sites dedicated
mainly to art.
C) larger and steadier income streams for littleknown artists.
10
D) renewed appreciation for artists whose works had
come to be neglected.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 61-63 (“In addition . . . goals”)
7
B) Lines 83-85 (“There . . . trends”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
C) Lines 87-94 (“Vijay Gupta . . . Skype”)
D) Lines 95-100 (“In fields . . . careers”)
A) Lines 5-8 (“Better . . . it”)
B) Lines 12-14 (“Online . . . work”)
C) Lines 31-34 (“This trend . . . audiences”)
D) Lines 75-78 (“Black’s . . . Instagram”)
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CONTINUE
Part 3
40
Questions 11-15 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from Harriet
Martineau, How to Observe: Morals and
Manners (1838).
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
The universality of education is inseparably
connected with a lofty idea of liberty; and till
the idea is realized in a constantly expanding
system of national education, the observer may
profitably note for reflection the facts whether he
is surrounded on a frontier by a crowd of whining
young beggars, or whether he sees a parade of
charity scholars—these all in blue caps and
yellow stockings, and those all in white tippets
and green aprons; or whether he falls in with an
annual or quarterly assembly of teachers, met
to confer on the best principles and methods of
carrying on an education which is itself a matter
of course.
In countries where there is any popular Idea
of Liberty, the universities are considered its
stronghold, from their being the places where the
young, active, hopeful, and aspiring meet—the
youths who are soon to be citizens, and who have
here the means of daily communication of their
ideas, for many years together. It would be an
interesting inquiry how many revolutions, warlike
or bloodless, have issued from seats of learning;
and yet more, how many have been planned
for which the existing powers, or the habits of
society, have been too strong. If the universities
are not so constituted as to admit of this fostering
of free principles, they are pretty sure to retain
the antique notions in accordance with which
they were instituted, and to fall into the rear of
society in morals and manners. It is the traveller’s
business to observe the characteristics of these
institutions, and to reflect whether they are likely
to aid or to retard the progress of the nation in
which they stand.
There are universities in almost every country;
but they are as little like one another as the
costumes that are found in Switzerland and
India; and the one speak as plainly of morals and
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manners as the other of climate. It is needless
to point out that countries which contain only
aristocratic halls of learning, or schools otherwise
devoid of an elastic principle, must be in a state of
comparative barbarism; because, in such a case,
learning (so called there) must be confined to a
few, and probably to the few who can make the
least practical use of it. Where the universities are
on such a plan as that, preserving their primary
form, they can admit increasing numbers, the state
of intellect is likely to be a more advanced one.
But a more favourable symptom is where seats
of learning are multiplied as society enlarges,
modified in their principles as new departments
of knowledge open, and as new classes arise
who wish to learn. That country is in a state of
transition—of progression—where the ancient
universities are honoured for as much as they
can give, while new schools arise to supply their
deficiencies, and Mechanics’ Institutes, or some
kindred establishments, flourish by the side of
both. This state of things, this variety in the
pursuit of knowledge, can exist only where there
is a freedom of thought, and consequent diversity
of opinion, which argues a vigorous idea of
liberty.
The observer must not, however, rest satisfied
with ascertaining the proportion of the means of
education to the people who have to be educated.
He must mark the objects for which learning
is pursued. The two most strongly contrasted
cases which can be found are probably those of
Germany and the United States. In the United
States, it is well known, a provision of university
education is made as ample as that of schools for
an earlier stage; yet no one pretends that a highly
finished education is to be looked for in that
country. The cause is obvious. In a young nation,
the great common objects of life are entered upon
earlier, and every preparatory process is gone
through in a more superficial manner. Seats of
learning are numerous and fully attended, both
in Germany and America, and they testify in
each to a pervading desire of knowledge. Here
the agreement ends. The German student may,
without being singular, remain within the walls
CONTINUE
Part 3
90
of his college till time silvers his hairs; or he has
even been known to pass eighteen years among
his books, without once crossing the threshold
of his study. The young American, meanwhile,
satisfied at the end of three years that he knows
as much as his neighbours, settles in a home,
engages in farming or commerce, and plunges into
what alone he considers the business of life.
13
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 15-17 (“In . . . stronghold”)
B) Lines 36-40 (“There are . . . climate”)
C) Lines 47-50 (“Where . . . one”)
D) Lines 55-61 (“That country . . . both”)
11
Which choice best supports the claim that “a lofty
idea of liberty” (line 2) is a benefit to universities?
14
As described by Martineau, Americans value
education that is meant to
A) Lines 21-23 (“It would . . . learning”)
B) Lines 26-31 (“If the . . . manners”)
A) correct a European tendency to prize obscure
knowledge.
C) Lines 31-35 (“It is . . . stand”)
D) Lines 66-68 (“The observer . . . educated”)
B) strengthen and enlighten small communities.
C) serve specific practical purposes.
D) promote a spirit of skepticism.
12
One of Martineau’s central claims about university
education is that
15
A) nations with respected university systems should
more aggressively promote alternatives to formal
academic training.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 72-75 (“In the . . . stage”)
B) very few professions can operate effectively in a
country where few people have university
training.
B) Lines 77-80 (“In a young . . . manner”)
C) Lines 80-83 (“Seats of . . . knowledge”)
C) universities are often founded in order to educate
civic and national leaders.
D) Lines 89-93 (“The young . . . life”)
D) the nature of a country’s universities is directly
related to the values of its people.
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Part 3
Questions 16-20 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “What in the
World Is an Exoplanet?” by Pat Brennan
(April 2018), originally published* on
nasa.gov. The term “exoplanet” refers to any
planet located outside our solar system.
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We’re standing on a precipice of scientific
history. The era of early exploration, along
with the first confirmed exoplanet detections,
is giving way to the next phase: sharper and
more sophisticated telescopes, in space and on
the ground. They will go broad but also drill
down. Some will be tasked with taking an ever
more precise population census of these far-off
worlds, nailing down their many sizes and types.
Others will make a closer inspection of individual
planets, their atmospheres, and their potential to
harbor some form of life.
Direct imaging of exoplanets—that is, actual
pictures—will play an increasingly larger role,
though we’ve arrived at our present state of
knowledge mostly through indirect means. The
two main methods rely on wobbles and shadows.
The “wobble” method, called radial velocity,
watches for the telltale jitters of stars as they are
pulled back and forth by the gravitational tugs of
an orbiting planet. The size of the wobble reveals
the “weight,” or mass, of the planet.
This method produced the very first confirmed
exoplanet detections, including 51 Peg in 1995,
discovered by astronomers Michel Mayor and
Didier Queloz. Ground telescopes using the radial
velocity method have discovered nearly 700
planets so far.
But the vast majority of exoplanets have been
found by searching for shadows: the incredibly
tiny dip in the light from a star when a planet
crosses its face. Astronomers call this crossing a
“transit.”
The size of the dip in starlight reveals how big
around the transiting planet is. Unsurprisingly,
this search for planetary shadows is known as the
transit method.
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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NASA’s Kepler space telescope, launched
in 2009, has found nearly 2,700 confirmed
exoplanets this way. Now in its “K2” mission,
Kepler is still discovering new planets, though its
fuel is expected to run out soon.
Each method has its pluses and minuses.
Wobble detections provide the mass of the planet,
but give no information about the planet’s girth,
or diameter. Transit detections reveal the diameter
but not the mass.
But when multiple methods are used together,
we can learn the vital statistics of whole planetary
systems—without ever directly imaging the
planets themselves. The best example so far is the
TRAPPIST-1 system about 40 light-years away,
where seven roughly Earth-sized planets orbit a
small, red star.
The TRAPPIST-1 planets have been examined
with ground and space telescopes. The spacebased studies revealed not only their diameters,
but the subtle gravitational influence these seven
closely packed planets have upon each other; from
this, scientists determined each planet’s mass.
So now we know their masses and their
diameters. We also know how much of the
energy radiated by their star strikes these planets’
surfaces, allowing scientists to estimate their
temperatures. We can even make reasonable
estimates of the light level, and guess at the color
of the sky, if you were standing on one of them.
And while much remains unknown about these
seven worlds, including whether they possess
atmospheres or oceans, ice sheets or glaciers, it’s
become the best-known solar system apart from
our own.
The next generation of space telescopes is upon
us. First up is the launch of TESS, the Transiting
Exoplanet Survey Satellite. This extraordinary
instrument will take a nearly full-sky survey of the
closer, brighter stars to look for transiting planets.
Kepler, the past master of transits, will be passing
the torch of discovery to TESS.
TESS, in turn, will reveal the best candidates
for a closer look with the James Webb Space
Telescope, currently scheduled to launch in
2020. The Webb telescope, deploying a giant,
CONTINUE
Part 3
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segmented, light-collecting mirror that will
ride on a shingle-like platform, is designed to
capture light directly from the planets themselves.
The light then can be split into a multi-colored
spectrum, a kind of bar code showing which gases
are present in the planet’s atmosphere. Webb’s
targets might include “super Earths,” or planets
larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune—
some that could be rocky planets like super-sized
versions of our own.
Little is known about these big planets,
including whether some might be suitable for
life. If we’re very lucky, perhaps one of them
will show signs of oxygen, carbon dioxide and
methane in its atmosphere. Such a mix of gases
would remind us strongly of our own atmosphere,
possibly indicating the presence of life.
But hunting for Earth-like atmospheres on
Earth-sized exoplanets will probably have to wait
for a future generation of even more powerful
space probes in the 2020s or 2030s.
18
Which choice best supports the idea that the radial
velocity method has NOT offered researchers a
comprehensive approach for studying exoplanets?
A) Lines 26-28 (“Ground . . . so far”)
B) Lines 34-35 (“The size . . . is”)
C) Lines 44-46 (“Wobble . . . diameter”)
D) Lines 56-59 (“The space-based . . . each other”)
19
One of the assumptions present in the author’s
discussion of Earth-like exoplanets is the idea that
A) an atmospheric composition that resembles
Earth’s could indicate that a planet is inhabited by
organisms.
B) relatively large exoplanets are typically less dense
than Earth is.
16
The author of the passage indicates that indirect
methods for detecting exoplanets
C) a planet that exhibits varied climates and
geographical features is likely to foster life.
A) are premised on random and unusual occurrences.
D) direct imaging of an Earth-like exoplanet is the
best way to confirm whether the planet has a
climate that could promote life.
B) were generally efficient but made classification of
discovered exoplanets extremely difficult.
C) will slowly yet decisively be replaced by more
direct means of detecting exoplanets.
20
D) are no longer the only possibilities available to
astronomers who are searching for exoplanets.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 68-72 (“And while . . . own”)
17
B) Lines 89-91 (“Webb’s . . . Neptune”)
C) Lines 94-96 (“Little . . . life”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) Lines 98-100 (“Such a . . . life”)
A) Lines 7-9 (“Some . . . types”)
B) Lines 13-16 (“Direct . . . means”)
C) Lines 18-20 (“The ‘wobble’ . . . planet”)
D) Lines 23-26 (“This . . . Didier Queloz”)
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CONTINUE
Part 3
Questions 21-25 are based on the
following Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The
Ambiguities Abroad” by Nils Lundgarten
(2016). Dominic, the main character of the
short story from which this excerpt is taken,
is a retired chemist who is on a sightseeing
tour.
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I doubt that many people would look out at
a tan-and-black landscape under a gray sky and
think, “I am free. I am free!” Had anyone other
than the vikings—had even they—ever landed
on Iceland on a rainy Thursday and found that
“freedom! freedom!” was the first thing that came
to mind?
As the bus bounded toward Reykjavik, I
couldn’t help thinking back to how all this would
have gone had I still been yoked to that tour
group—how little freedom I would have enjoyed
as I rode through that wind-whipped volcanic
landscape. Again and again, I scanned the bus in
satisfaction. Empty seats! A week ago, the entire
vehicle would have been populated by my “fellow
travelers.” I would have jealously guarded the
seat next to me, my books and my hat situated on
it in a manner designed to forbid companionship.
Such attempts were never successful enough, but
now there were no companions. The interior of the
bus was dark, the air that circulated through was
crisp. I realized, now, how little I remembered of
any one individual from the group tour, perhaps
beyond our ever-voluble, ever-sunglassed guide
and the quiet, beleaguered fellow who actually
drove the tour bus. I had remained aloof from
them too, cautious of signaling to the younger
and more raucous vacationers that I was ready
to socialize at large. Of course, now, none of it
mattered. The only other people on the Reykjavik
bus were a mother and her four children, all
of them clustered towards the front seats and
preoccupied with their iPads. For them, I had as
little importance as my onetime fellow travelers
on the “Scandinavia Holiday Group Tour” now
had for me.
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The streets of Reykjavik itself were vacant;
I kept on the lookout for another car, a woman
with a baby carriage, a hardy soul on a bicycle,
and found myself disappointed at each new
intersection. Finally, we reached the hotel. The
family with the iPads disembarked promptly;
I would never see them again. As for the hotel
itself, it was not large or imposing by any means.
What it lacked in stature, though, it made up in
its all-too-transparent positioning as an eminently
modern establishment. The lobby was not so much
a lobby as a machine made to deliver hospitality
in the most efficient form possible—nothing but
navy blue furniture, pearl-white walls, fluorescent
lighting. A bowl of flawlessly green apples and
a large carafe of water—a pleasant change from
the unruly collections of candies and pastries that
every Russian hotel seemed to boast—were the
only attempts at refreshment.
When, in short order, I entered my room,
I positively hurled my travel bags down in
anticipation. The trip was not over, and this last
stage would be mine to savor in the isolation
that I had craved for every preceding mile that I
had traveled. Yet as those two bags hit the floor,
something—not quite regret, but something
comparable, something just as tangible—snuffed
out my high spirits. The truth was that I had
waited so long for this moment that its arrival
was quashingly underwhelming. There would no
longer be a litany of complaints humming in the
back of my mind; there would no longer be the
tour guide’s longwinded lectures, the pleasant
pointless chatter of my twenty-five “fellow
travelers.” I would miss them the way that one
misses a tooth that had been aching consistently
yet never too intensely before its extraction, and I
would miss that quiet fellow who drove the bus—
and, having forgotten his name, I will always
think of him as “that quiet fellow who drove the
bus”—in a different way. I had felt that he and
I were somehow united in this ordeal, trying
to conduct our business while other people’s
socialization clamored to get in the way, and
I hadn’t so much as offered him a perfunctory
good-bye.
CONTINUE
Part 3
24
21
Within the passage, the narrator characterizes
Iceland’s natural landscape as
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) remarkably unappealing to those who are most
familiar with its features.
A) Lines 16-18 (“I would . . . companionship”)
B) generally unlikely to inspire the positive
sentiments that he experiences.
C) Lines 73-77 (“I would . . way”)
B) Lines 22-26 (“I realized . . . tour bus”)
D) Lines 77-80 (“I had felt . . . way”)
C) strangely uninteresting to those who would have
the greatest motivation to examine it.
D) associated with a lingering sense of discomfort
and alienation.
25
Which choice best indicates that the narrator is not
entirely pleased to be free of the tour group?
22
A) Lines 33-36 (“For them . . . for me”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) Lines 56-58 (“When . . . anticipation”)
A) Lines 1-3 (“I doubt . . . free!”)
D) Lines 68-71 (“there would . . . fellow travelers”)
C) Lines 64-66 (“The truth . . . underwhelming”)
B) Lines 13-14 (“Again . . . seats”)
C) Lines 30-33 (“The only . . . iPads”)
D) Lines 37-41 (“The streets . . . intersection”)
23
The narrator would most likely characterize the bus
driver from the “tour group” (lines 10-11) as
A) a peer who was capable of offering a new
perspective.
B) an authority who disapproved of idle and
irresponsible behavior.
C) an acquaintance who inspired a feeling of
sympathy.
D) an ally who had difficulty expressing himself.
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Part 3
Questions 26-30 are based on the
following Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Samantha
Wallace, “Linking Isolated Languages:
Linguistic Relationships of the Carabayo.”
Originally published* on EveryONE, the blog
of the research site Plos One.
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In 2010, English clocked in at over 360 million
native speakers, and it is the third-most-commonly
used native language, right behind Mandarin
Chinese and Spanish. While these languages
spread, however, other indigenous languages
decline at an accelerated pace. A fraction of
these enigmatic languages belong to uncontacted
indigenous groups of the Amazonian rainforest,
groups of people in South America who have
little to no interaction with societies beyond their
own. Many of these groups choose to remain
uncontacted by the rest of the world. Because of
their isolation, not much is known about these
languages beyond their existence.
The researchers of a recent PLOS ONE
paper investigated one such language, that of
the Carabayo people who live in the Colombian
Amazon rainforest. Working with the relatively
scarce historical data that exists for the Carabayo
language—only 50 words have been recorded
over time—the authors identified similarities
between Carabayo and Yurí and Tikuna, two
known languages of South America that constitute
the current language family Ticuna-Yurí. Based
on the correspondences, the authors posit a
possible genealogical connection between these
languages.
Few resources were available to the authors in
this endeavor. They analyzed historical wordlists
collected during the last encounter with the
Carabayo people in 1969—the only linguistic data
available from this group—against wordlists for
the Yurí language. In addition, they sought the
expertise of a native speaker of Tikuna, a linguist
trained in Tikuna’s many dialects. Using these
resources, the authors broke down the Carabayo
words into their foundational forms, starting with
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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consonants and vowels. They then compared
them to similarly deconstructed words in Yurí and
Tikuna.
The examination involved the evaluation of
similarities in the basic building blocks of these
words: the number of times a specific sound (or
phoneme) appeared; the composition and patterns
of the smallest grammatical units of a word (a
morpheme); and the meanings attached to these
words. When patterns appeared between Carabayo
and either Yurí or Tikuna, the authors considered
whether or not the languages’ similarities
constituted stronger correspondences. They also
paid attention to the ways in which these words
would have been used by the Carabayo when the
lists were originally made many years ago.
The Yurí language was first recorded in the
19th century, but it is thought to have become
extinct since then. From these lists, five words
stood out: in Carabayo, ao ‘father’, hono ‘boy’,
hako ‘well!’, and a complex form containing
both the Yurí word from warm, noré, and the Yurí
word, t∫au, which corresponds in English to ‘I’
or ‘my’. Given the evidence, the authors contend
that the strongest link between Carabayo and Yurí
is found in the correspondence of t∫au. The study
of other languages has indicated that first person
pronouns are particularly resistant to “borrowing,”
or the absorption of one language’s vocabulary
into another. Therefore, the authors surmise
it is unlikely in this instance that either of the
languages absorbed t∫au from the other, but that
they share a genealogical link.
Similarly, the comparison of Carabayo
words to words of the living language of Tikuna
provided a high number of matches, including in
Carabayo gudda ‘wait’ and gu ‘yes’. The matches
especially exhibit sound correspondences of
Carabayo g (or k) and the loss of the letter n in
certain circumstances.
Although it is possible that the Carabayo
language represents a language that had not yet
been documented until the time of 1969, the
results of the researchers’ evaluation have led
them to conclude that Carabayo more likely
belongs to the language family of Ticuna-Yurí.
CONTINUE
Part 3
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The relationship of Carabayo to Yurí and
Tikuna changes the structure of the Ticuna-Yurí
family by placing Carabayo on the map as a
member of that family. The Tikuna language, once
considered to be the sole surviving member of
the Ticuna-Yurí family, might now have a sibling,
and the identity of a barely known language has
become that much more defined.
28
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 15-18 (“The researchers . . . rainforest”)
B) Lines 29-33 (“They . . . language”)
C) Lines 35-38 (“Using these . . . vowels”)
D) Lines 47-50 (“When . . . correspondences”)
26
Another article on the Carabayo people claims that
indigenous people in the Amazon have changed their
languages and cultures in response to modernization.
Which piece of evidence from the passage above
most directly opposes this article’s claim?
29
According to the passage, the strongest evidence of a
connection between the Yurí and Carabayo languages
involves
A) Lines 11-12 (“Many . . . world”)
A) the geographical proximity of speakers of
Carabayo, Yurí, and Tikuna.
B) Lines 12-14 (“Because . . . existence”)
B) the small number of changes in pronunciation
that the two languages have exhibited.
C) Lines 18-24 (“Working . . . Ticuna-Yurí”)
D) Lines 54-57 (“The Yurí . . . then”)
C) the presence of matching pronoun references in
the two languages.
D) the large number of everyday words shared by the
Carabayo and Tikuna languages.
27
The author indicates that one of the challenges faced
by the PLOS ONE researchers was
A) the difficulty of finding fluent speakers of
Carabayo.
30
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) the scarcity of useful information on the
Carabayo language.
A) Lines 56-61 (“From these . . . my”)
C) the inaccuracy of previous research linking the
Carabayo and Tikuna languages.
B) Lines 67-70 (“Therefore . . . link”)
C) Lines 84-87 (“The relationship . . . family”)
D) the absence of parallels between Yuri and
Carabayo words.
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
D) Lines 87-89 (“The Tikuna . . . sibling”)
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Part 3
Questions 31-35 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Fruit Fly
Mating Driven by a Tweak in a Specific Brain
Circuit” (July 2018). Originally published* by
the National Institutes of Health.
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According to a new National Institutes of
Health-funded study, it is not destiny that brings
two fruit flies together, but an evolutionary
matchmaker of sorts that made tiny adjustments
to their brains’ mating circuits, so they would be
attracted to one another while rejecting advances
from other, even closely-related, species. The
results, published in Nature, may help explain
how a specific female scent triggers completely
different responses in different male flies.
“This study reveals how a very small tweak
in brain wiring can result in large changes
in very complex social behaviors, which can
ultimately determine the fate of a species,” said
Jim Gnadt, Ph.D., program director at the NIH’s
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS), which supported the study.
“Understanding how variation in brain circuits
leads to changes in behavior is one of the primary
goals of the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative and this
study provides a piece of the puzzle.”
Vanessa Ruta, Ph.D., professor at Rockefeller
University in New York City, and her colleagues
used cutting-edge genetic tools to compare the
brain circuits behind courtship behavior in two
closely related species of fruit fly, D. melanogaster
and D. simulans.
Previous studies showed that although
males from both species could detect a specific
pheromone, or scent, called 7,11-heptacosadiene
(7,11-HD), their reactions to it were very different.
Male D. melanogaster flies found it attractive
while D. simulans males avoided females that
carried it. In this study, Dr. Ruta and her team
discovered that slight differences in the way the
flies’ brains are wired may control these opposite
reactions.
“From a fly’s perspective, courtship is the
*See Page 263 for the citation for this text.
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most important decision it will make, and so
evolutionary processes have really fine-tuned flies’
brains to ensure optimal behaviors, leading them
to their ideal mates,” said Dr. Ruta.
In fruit flies, pheromones are detected by
sensory neurons on the legs, and that information
travels to P1 neurons that sit in the lateral
protocerebral complex (LPC) in the brain. In
between the sensory and P1 neurons, the wiring
splits so that the P1 cells can be either turned on
or off.
P1 neurons trigger courtship activity in D.
melanogaster males but have not been studied
in other fly species. When the P1 neurons were
turned on in D. simulans males, they tried mating
with nearby objects including unsuitable targets
such as females from different species as well as
rotating magnets. This suggests that P1 neurons
may be important for sparking courtship behaviors
across species.
Dr. Ruta and her team used state-of-theart technology to watch brain cells light up
in real time as male flies were exposed to D.
melanogaster and D. simulans females releasing
7,11-HD. When D. melanogaster males were
exposed to females from their species, there was
a lot of activity by the P1 neurons. Exposure to D.
simulans females did not turn on those neurons.
However, P1 neurons in the D. simulans males did
not light up when they were exposed to females
from their species, suggesting that differences
in P1 neurons may underlie species-specific
responses to 7,11-HD.
Additional experiments suggested that as
pheromone signals traveled from the legs to
P1 neurons, that information was conveyed
differently in the two species of fruit fly by brain
cells that communicate directly with P1 neurons.
Specifically, P1 neurons appeared to receive
lots of excitation in D. melanogaster flies but
got more calming signals in D. simulans flies,
which led to opposite responses when the animals
were exposed to 7,11-HD. These findings also
suggested that in some species of flies, absence of
pheromone signaling may be more attractive than
the presence of certain scents.
CONTINUE
Part 3
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Future experiments will look at similar
behaviors in other species of fruit flies. More
research is needed to learn the mechanisms that
drive evolutionary changes in brain circuitry,
which may have important consequences for
individual and social behavior.
33
One of the important components in the design of Dr.
Ruta’s fruit fly experiment was
A) a process that could artificially intensify
aggression responses.
B) technology that could directly monitor nervous
system activity.
31
C) a new classification system that clarified the
relationship between D. melanogaster and D.
simulans.
As described in the passage, Dr. Ruta’s study was
notable for
D) a laboratory-produced pheromone that helped to
reproduce a situation previously observable only
in nature.
A) proposing a new model for how a dominant
species of fruit fly evolved.
B) building upon previous findings about fruit flies.
C) applying evolutionary models for other organisms
to fruit flies.
D) replacing earlier ideas about fruit fly anatomy.
34
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
32
A) Lines 18-21 (“Understanding . . . puzzle”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) Lines 22-27 (“Vanessa Ruta . . . D. simulans”)
A) Lines 7-10 (“The results . . . flies”)
D) Lines 59-63 (“Dr. Ruta . . . 7,11-HD”)
C) Lines 40-42 (“Evolutionary . . . Dr. Ruta”)
B) Lines 34-37 (“In this . . . reactions”)
C) Lines 43-46 (“In fruit flies . . . brain”)
35
D) Lines 65-66 (“Exposure . . . neurons”)
Which choice most effectively indicates that D.
melanogaster and D. simulans may respond to
sensory information in ways that are not fully
compatible?
A) Lines 11-15 (“This study . . . Jim Gnadt”)
B) Lines 56-58 (“This . . . species”)
C) Lines 72-76 (“Additional . . . P1 neurons”)
D) Lines 85-86 (“Future . . . fruit flies”)
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CONTINUE
Part 3
Questions 36-40 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from The
Impossibilities of Anarchism (1895) by
George Bernard Shaw. In its most extreme
form, “anarchism” promotes the abolition
of formal government; less extreme variants
promote radical and expanded individual
liberty.
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If the individual chooses, as in most cases he
will, to believe and worship as his fellows do, he
finds temples built and services organized at a
cost to himself which he hardly feels. The clothes,
the food, the furniture which he is most likely to
prefer are ready for him in the shops; the schools
in which his children can be taught what their
fellow citizens expect them to know are within
fifteen minutes’ walk of his door; and the red lamp
of the most approved pattern of doctor shines
reassuringly at the corner of the street. He is free
to live with the women of his family without
suspicion or scandal; and if he is not free to marry
them, what does that matter to him, since he does
not wish to marry them? And so happy may be his
dole, in spite of his slavery.
“Yes,” cries some eccentric individual; “but all
this is untrue of me. I want to marry my deceased
wife’s sister. I am prepared to prove that your
authorized system of medicine is nothing but a
debased survival of witchcraft. Your schools are
machines for forcing spurious learning on children
in order that your universities may stamp them
as educated men when they have finally lost all
power to think for themselves. The tall silk hats
and starched linen shirts which you force me to
wear, and without which I cannot successfully
practice as a physician, clergyman, schoolmaster,
lawyer, or merchant, are inconvenient, unsanitary,
ugly, pompous, and offensive. . . Under color of
protecting my person and property you forcibly
take my money to support an army of soldiers
and policemen for the execution of barbarous and
detestable laws; for the waging of wars which
I abhor; and for the subjection of my person to
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those legal rights of property which compel me to
sell myself for a wage to a class the maintenance
of which I hold to be the greatest evil of our time.
Your tyranny makes my very individuality a
hindrance to me: I am outdone and outbred by the
mediocre, the docile, the time-serving. Evolution
under such conditions means degeneracy:
therefore I demand the abolition of all these
officious compulsions, and proclaim myself an
Anarchist.”
The proclamation is not surprising under the
circumstances; but it does not mend the matter
in the least, nor would it if every person were to
repeat it with enthusiasm, and the whole people
to fly to arms for Anarchism. The majority cannot
help its tyranny even if it would. The giant
Winkelmeier must have found our doorways
inconvenient, just as men of five feet or less find
the slope of the floor in a theatre not sufficiently
steep to enable them to see over the heads of those
in front. But whilst the average height of a man
is 5ft. 8in. there is no redress for such grievances.
Builders will accommodate doors and floors to the
majority, and not to the minority. For since either
the majority or the minority must be incommoded,
evidently the more powerful must have its way.
There may be no indisputable reason why it
ought not; and any clever Tory can give excellent
reasons why it ought not; but the fact remains that
it will, whether it ought or not. And this is what
really settles the question as between democratic
majorities and minorities. Where their interests
conflict, the weaker side must go to the wall,
because, as the evil involved is no greater than
that of the stronger going to the wall, the majority
is not restrained by any scruple from compelling
the weaker to give way.
In practice, this does not involve either the
absolute power of majorities, or “the infallibility
of the odd man.” There are some matters in which
the course preferred by the minority in no way
obstructs that preferred by the majority. There are
many more in which the obstruction is easier to
bear than the cost of suppressing it. For it costs
something to suppress even a minority of one.
The commonest example of that minority is the
CONTINUE
Part 3
85
90
lunatic with a delusion; yet it is found quite safe
to entertain dozens of delusions, and be generally
an extremely selfish and troublesome idiot, in
spite of the power of majorities; for until you go
so far that it clearly costs less to lock you up than
to leave you at large, the majority will not take the
trouble to set itself in action against you. Thus a
minimum of individual liberty is secured, under
any system, to the smallest minority.
38
Which choice most effectively indicates that the
“eccentric individual” (line 17) believes that his
worldview places him at a disadvantage?
A) Lines 19-20 (“I am . . . witchcraft”)
B) Lines 30-34 (“Under . . . laws”)
C) Lines 39-41 (“Your . . . time-serving”)
D) Lines 43-45 (“therefore . . . Anarchist”)
36
Shaw argues that the educational system of his era is
39
A) deeply unpopular among innovators and social
reformers.
Shaw argues that the influence of the majority in
political and civic life is
B) conveniently situated and effectively run for
citizens who value conformity.
A) overwhelming, yet not fully justified on rational
grounds.
C) resistant to Anarchism despite a variety of
institution-wide flaws.
B) widely admired, yet acknowledged by many as a
source of injustice.
D) hospitable to views that are bizarre and
misguided.
C) generally useful, yet of limited value in correcting
dangerous or deranged behavior.
D) problematic, yet accepted since minorities tend to
promote shortsighted policies.
37
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
40
A) Lines 6-9 (“The schools . . . door”)
B) Lines 21-25 (“Your schools . . . themselves”)
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
C) Lines 25-30 (“The tall . . . offensive”)
A) Lines 47-50 (“but it . . . Anarchism”)
D) Lines 82-85 (“yet it is . . . majorities”)
B) Lines 62-65 (“There . . . not”)
C) Lines 75-77 (“There . . . majority”)
D) Lines 85-88 (“for until . . . you”)
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 126.
Do not turn to any other section.
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125
Answer Key
Command of Evidence
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
C
C
B
D
B
A
C
A
D
B
B
D
B
C
D
D
B
C
A
D
Passage 5
Passage 6
Passage 7
Passage 8
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
B
A
C
D
C
A
B
B
C
B
B
B
B
D
C
B
A
C
A
B
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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126
Part 4
Word in Context
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 4
Word in Context
Question Fundamentals
One of the major changes involved in the 2016 re-design of the SAT was the elimination of questions that
tested relatively obscure vocabulary in isolation from complete passages. Now, almost all vocabulary that
is tested directly on the SAT Reading section appears under a single question type: Word in Context. These
questions, like some Command of Evidence questions, follow a fairly standard phrasing (“As used in line
. . . most nearly means . . . ”) that makes them readily identifiable. Yet the challenges of working with Word in
Context content can be considerable—at least at first.
When approaching Word in Context items, you should NOT choose the “most obvious” or “dictionary”
definition of the word that you must define. These questions typically feature words—“strength,” “compromise,”
“range”—that can take on a variety of valid meanings, some of which may be relatively uncommon or may not
initially come to mind. Your real task is to determine which of multiple plausible meanings fits the EXACT
CONTEXT of the passage. Fortunately, there are a few different types of context clues that can be used in a
highly systematic manner.
Working with Context Clues
In order to approach Word in Context questions effectively, you will need to locate or establish strong context
clues for EVERY word that you are given (the one that appears in the question prompt, then the four answer
choices). If you can do so, you will be able to perform process of elimination with high efficiency. You may
not, of course, always use the same types of clues when working with the passage, though you will ALWAYS
be able to make use of the same core method—one that is most open to modification in its early stages, when
you are still mostly working with the word provided by the passage.
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Part 4: Word in Context
Core Strategy: Original Word
1. Locate the original word in the passage, but do NOT analyze its meaning
2. Determine whether there are any DIRECT clues for the original word
•
Synonyms that are the same part of speech
•
Antonyms that are the same part of speech
3. Determine whether there are any INDIRECT clues for the original word
•
What other word (especially for verbs, adjectives, or adverbs) the word describes
or modifies
•
What general situation (context) and general tone (+/-) the word refers to
4. Using the clues, define the original word with a new word, context, or phrase that is
AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the content of the passage; note, if needed, TONE and
CONTEXT
As you can see, the original word receives relatively little attention, and in some circumstances should be
DIRECTLY REPLACED with a different word from the passage. For this reason, working with direct clues
can yield easy answers if done properly. If you need to solve for the word “strong” and the passage gives
you the phrase “her strong, unwavering stance,” you should look for a direct synonym for “unwavering” in
the answer choices. If you need to solve for the word “compromise” and the passage gives you the phrase
“compromise rather than persevere,” you should look for a word that means “NOT persevere.”
Indirect clues can be more difficult to work with because they do not give word-to-word equivalences.
Fortunately, they DO give plenty of context that can be analyzed in a straightforward manner. Consider how
to work with a noun reference. If you need to solve for the word “range” and are given the phrase “the range of
the experiment was considerable, drawing in well over 1000 volunteers,” you should see that “range” refers to
“experiment.” Any words that raise other possible contexts for “range”—such as geographical location—will
automatically be incorrect.
The same example also shows how well general context can help you to understand a given word in the
absence of direct synonym or antonym. Here, “well over 1000 volunteers” is a clue that indicates the context
of “size.” You should thus, for your correct answers, predict a word that indicates “scope,” “magnitude,” or
quite simply “size.”
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Part 4: Word in Context
Though vocabulary-oriented, the Word in Context strategy so far uses the same general principles of educated
inference and prediction that appear in other SAT Reading question types. The answers still await, but you will
need to perform one more round of analysis to deal with the individual choices appropriately.
Core Strategy: Answer Choices
5. Next to each answer choice, quickly define the context that is indicated; briefly note
MULTIPLE contexts in special cases
6. Pair your predictions against the answer choices, and eliminate answer choices that do
not fit ANY elements of your predictions
7. Check your final answer choice by plugging it into the passage in place of the original
word
In essence, you must pair off the information that you have gathered from your comprehension of the reading
to eliminate false choices that, WITHOUT this information, could be tempting. The point of the SAT is almost
never what “sounds right” based on vague impressions. Like other question types, Word in Context calls upon
your ability to adapt a predictable yet flexible method to the information given in a passage. Nonetheless, a
few words of caution are necessary.
Important Tips
Do not rush to judgment on answer choices that themselves have MULTIPLE meanings.
•
While several answer choices will in fact have obvious contexts, you may occasionally come across an
answer choice that—like the word you are being asked to solve for—has important secondary or tertiary
meanings. DO NOT disregard these. Note them instead, and realize that they might yield a correct answer.
Continue to build your vocabulary to ENHANCE your work, NOT to replace the strategy.
•
Learning new and advanced words will help you to read through some passage types (particularly History)
and can help you navigate Word in Context questions that feature tough vocabulary themselves. Still, stay
method-bound. Words that are used every day, but with shades of meaning, still predominate.
Use a “plug-and-chug” method ONLY in crisis conditions, such as a time crunch or complete confusion.
•
At first, test takers may get a fair number of right answers simply by “plugging in words and seeing what
sounds best.” This method is not absolutely terrible—and is, after all, incorporated into the final steps of
the full method—but WILL NOT give you perfect accuracy. Instead, use plugging in as a way to check
work that has already been approached methodically. The exception here is that simply plugging in may
help you if you are completely confused or have two minutes left to finish five questions, though sufficient
practice should remove BOTH of these problems.
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Part 4: Word in Context
Now that you know exactly how a Word in Context question—in fact, ANY word in context question—must
be approached, consider how the core strategy makes some of the content from the Diagnostic Test much
easier to work through. Take a new look at Question 23.
Steps 1-4
5
10
discovered that these differences in size are related •
to the brain’s shape and the way it is organized.
The bigger the brain, the more its additional area
is accounted for by growth in thinking areas of
•
the cortex, or outer mantle—at the expense of
relatively slower growth in lower order emotional,
sensory, and motor areas.
•
This mirrors the pattern of brain changes seen
in evolution and individual development—with
Question designates the word “additional,”
which is located but NOT analyzed (step 1)
•
CONTEXT: size and growth, positive (step 4)
One direct context clue, “bigger,” that is the
same part of speech (step 2)
Indirect context clues including “area,”
“accounted for,” and “growth,” mostly positive
(step 3)
Steps 5-7
23
As used in line 7, “additional” most nearly means
A) substitute.
context of replacement, NOT size (eliminate)
B) sequenced.
context of time or movement, NOT size (eliminate)
C) superfluous.
context of something extra, but NEGATIVE (eliminate)
D) supplementary.
context of growth or new physical feature, CORRECT
“The bigger the brain, the more its supplementary area is accounted for by
growth in thinking areas of the cortex . . . ”
As you practice this process, you will find that the different steps flow together naturally—though you
SHOULD, as you did with Passage Details questions, make a point of writing out your ideas as you begin to
delve into practice tests. Work through the questions that follow, and use as many clues as you can to eliminate
false answers and to determine only appropriate choice.
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Part 4
Questions 1-5 are based on the following
Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The Life of Ma
Parker” by Katherine Mansfield. Originally
published in 1921 and later re-printed in
the collection The Garden Party and Other
Stories.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
It would take a whole book to describe the
state of that kitchen. During the week the literary
gentleman “did” for himself. That is to say, he
emptied the tea leaves now and again into a jam
jar set aside for that purpose, and if he ran out of
clean forks he wiped over one or two on the roller
towel. Otherwise, as he explained to his friends,
his “system” was quite simple, and he couldn’t
understand why people made all this fuss about
housekeeping.
“You simply dirty everything you’ve got, get
a hag in once a week to clean up, and the thing’s
done.”
The result looked like a gigantic dustbin. Even
the floor was littered with toast crusts, envelopes,
cigarette ends. But Ma Parker bore him no grudge.
She pitied the poor young gentleman for having
no one to look after him. Out of the smudgy little
window you could see an immense expanse of
sad-looking sky, and whenever there were clouds
they looked very worn, old clouds, frayed at the
edges, with holes in them, or dark stains like tea.
While the water was heating, Ma Parker began
sweeping the floor. “Yes,” she thought, as the
broom knocked, “what with one thing and another
I’ve had my share. I’ve had a hard life.”
Even the neighbours said that of her. Many a
time, hobbling home with her fish bag she heard
them, waiting at the corner, or leaning over the
area railings, say among themselves, “She’s had
a hard life, has Ma Parker.” And it was so true
she wasn’t in the least proud of it. It was just as if
you were to say she lived in the basement-back at
Number 27. A hard life!
At sixteen she’d left Stratford and come up to
London as kitchen-maid. Yes, she was born
in Stratford-on-Avon. Shakespeare, sir? No,
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people were always asking her about him. But
she’d never heard his name until she saw it on the
theatres.
Nothing remained of Stratford except that
“sitting in the fire-place of a evening you could
see the stars through the chimney,” and “Mother
always had her side of bacon, hanging from the
ceiling.” And there was something—a bush,
there was—at the front door, that smelt ever so
nice. But the bush was very vague. She’d only
remembered it once or twice in the hospital, when
she’d been taken bad.
That was a dreadful place—her first place. She
was never allowed out. She never went upstairs
except for prayers morning and evening. It was
a fair cellar. And the cook was a cruel woman.
She used to snatch away Ma’s letters from home
before she’d read them, and throw them in the
range because they made her dreamy. . . .
When that family was sold up she went as
“help” to a doctor’s house, and after two years
there, on the run from morning till night, she
married her husband. He was a baker.
“A baker, Mrs. Parker!” the literary gentleman
would say. For occasionally he laid aside his
tomes and lent an ear, at least, to this product
called Life. “It must be rather nice to be married
to a baker!”
Mrs. Parker didn’t look so sure.
“Such a clean trade,” said the gentleman.
Mrs. Parker didn’t look convinced.
“And didn’t you like handing the new loaves to
the customers?”
“Well, sir,” said Mrs. Parker, “I wasn’t in the
shop above a great deal. We had thirteen little
ones and buried seven of them. If it wasn’t the
hospital it was the infirmary, you might say!”
“You might, indeed, Mrs. Parker!” said the
gentleman, shuddering, and taking up his pen
again.
Yes, seven had gone, and while the six
were still small her husband was taken ill with
consumption. It was flour on the lungs, the doctor
told her at the time
CONTINUE
Part 4
4
1
As used in line 5, “set aside” most nearly means
As used in line 50, “dreadful” most nearly means
A) designated.
A) thoroughly surreal.
B) exemplified.
B) horribly disorganized.
C) commemorated.
C) deeply unappealing.
D) neglected.
D) subtly dangerous.
5
2
As used in line 31, “true” most nearly means
As used in line 68, “convinced” most nearly means
A) unquestionable.
A) verified.
B) incorruptible.
B) distinguished.
C) perfect.
C) persuaded.
D) faithful.
D) steadfast.
3
As used in line 47, “vague” most nearly means
A) reliant on generalities.
B) inexplicable.
C) uncommitted.
D) difficult to recollect.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 6-10 are based on the following
Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Creativity
Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting
U.S. Artists,” a report issued* by the National
Endowment for the Arts in 2016.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
New technological tools are expanding the
boundaries of artistic practice and the presence of
art in daily life, as well as the ways people interact
with and consume artistic products and creative
content. Better and less expensive technological
tools are influencing the way that many artists
make work, and where and with whom they make
it. These new mechanisms are fundamentally
altering the cost structure and methods of creating,
distributing, and consuming art, especially in
fields with reproducible products such as music,
writing, photography, and film. Online giving and
crowdsourcing platforms are also changing the
way some artists finance their work.
Widespread access to inexpensive but
highly sophisticated creation tools such as
mobile phone cameras, music and video editing
software, and graphic design programs are
lowering barriers to creating high-quality work
in technology-mediated disciplines. In some
cases new technologies for creation, distribution,
and financing have altered entire fields. For
example, video games used to be very expensive
to make and the risk of failure was high, so
large production companies controlled what got
made and only bet on potential mass market hits.
Now, better and cheaper technology means that
one or two creators can raise the capital they
need through online platforms like Kickstarter
and distribute their games through platforms
like STEAM. This trend has led to an explosion
in experimentation in content and form, and
generated a more diverse range of creators and
audiences.
The ease of access to technological tools and
reduction of cost in using them have also enabled
artists to experiment with using traditionally
consumer-oriented mediums for work that is more
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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55
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oriented toward artistic or social change purposes.
For example, video artist Bill Viola collaborated
with University of Southern California’s Game
Innovation Lab to develop The Night Journey, a
game that explores the topic of enlightenment.
New technologies, such as virtual reality
and 3D printing, are triggering the creation of
entirely new artistic specialties and are spurring
substantial growth in multimedia and crossdiscipline productions. An increasing number
of online platforms designed to facilitate
creative collaborations, such as hitRECord and
SoundCloud, reflect and propel artists’ growing
appetite to collaborate artistically within and
between disciplines.
These mechanisms are being used in a
range of ways. For example, the Disquiet Junto
page on SoundCloud encourages experimental
sound artists to post tracks in response to a
compositional challenge and then exchange
critiques. These tools facilitate artists’ ability
to locate and work with artistic collaborators
from around the world. In addition, technology
is enabling artists to collaborate with people in
other fields to achieve mutual goals. Enspiral, an
online collaboration started by freelance artists
and designers and activists in New Zealand,
now facilitates global collaborations focused on
positive social impacts. Through this mechanism,
artists are collaborating with lawyers, accountants,
lay people, and others to organize, finance, and
realize projects. . . .
“Amateur” photographer Matt Black’s
experience illustrates how technology is making
it possible for new people to enter fields that used
to require expensive equipment, training, and
professional networks. Black’s iPhone images of
poverty in his rural hometown in Central Valley,
California, were picked up and publicized by
MSNBC after he posted them to Instagram. This
led to his receiving the W. Eugene Smith Grant
Award (the “Nobel Prize of journalism”) and a
nomination to join Magnum, the world’s premier
photo agency.
There are many positive benefits of these
developments, but there are downsides to these
CONTINUE
Part 4
85
90
95
100
trends as well. One negative consequence is that
technology enables producers to engage less
expensive talent in other parts of the world. Vijay
Gupta, co-founder of the Street Symphony in Los
Angeles and a first violin for the Los Angeles
Symphony, notes that “work for classically
trained musicians is dwindling” in the U.S.,
and “orchestra jobs in film are moving overseas
because a composer in L.A. can conduct a less
expensive orchestra in Singapore using Skype.”
In fields like music and photography, business
models have been completely disrupted by digital
technology, which has driven down the prices for
content and increased competition, making it ever
harder for professionals in these fields to sustain
careers.
8
As used in line 31, “explosion” most nearly means
A) exaggeration.
B) ejection.
C) extermination.
D) escalation.
9
As used in line 70, “realize” most nearly means
A) recognize.
B) implement.
C) grasp.
6
D) enlighten.
As used in line 4, “consume” most nearly means
A) expend.
10
B) captivate.
As used in line 86, “engage” most nearly means
C) utilize.
A) enlist the services of.
D) devour.
B) have intense discussions with.
C) find ways to educate.
7
D) specialize products for.
As used in line 26, “bet on” most nearly means
A) speculated about.
B) pledged loyalty to.
C) tempted fate with.
D) decided to invest in.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
40
Questions 11-15 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from Harriet
Martineau, How to Observe: Morals and
Manners (1838).
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
The universality of education is inseparably
connected with a lofty idea of liberty; and till
the idea is realized in a constantly expanding
system of national education, the observer may
profitably note for reflection the facts whether he
is surrounded on a frontier by a crowd of whining
young beggars, or whether he sees a parade of
charity scholars—these all in blue caps and
yellow stockings, and those all in white tippets
and green aprons; or whether he falls in with an
annual or quarterly assembly of teachers, met
to confer on the best principles and methods of
carrying on an education which is itself a matter
of course.
In countries where there is any popular Idea
of Liberty, the universities are considered its
stronghold, from their being the places where the
young, active, hopeful, and aspiring meet—the
youths who are soon to be citizens, and who have
here the means of daily communication of their
ideas, for many years together. It would be an
interesting inquiry how many revolutions, warlike
or bloodless, have issued from seats of learning;
and yet more, how many have been planned
for which the existing powers, or the habits of
society, have been too strong. If the universities
are not so constituted as to admit of this fostering
of free principles, they are pretty sure to retain
the antique notions in accordance with which
they were instituted, and to fall into the rear of
society in morals and manners. It is the traveller’s
business to observe the characteristics of these
institutions, and to reflect whether they are likely
to aid or to retard the progress of the nation in
which they stand.
There are universities in almost every country;
but they are as little like one another as the
costumes that are found in Switzerland and
India; and the one speak as plainly of morals and
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85
manners as the other of climate. It is needless
to point out that countries which contain only
aristocratic halls of learning, or schools otherwise
devoid of an elastic principle, must be in a state of
comparative barbarism; because, in such a case,
learning (so called there) must be confined to a
few, and probably to the few who can make the
least practical use of it. Where the universities are
on such a plan as that, preserving their primary
form, they can admit increasing numbers, the state
of intellect is likely to be a more advanced one.
But a more favourable symptom is where seats
of learning are multiplied as society enlarges,
modified in their principles as new departments
of knowledge open, and as new classes arise
who wish to learn. That country is in a state of
transition—of progression—where the ancient
universities are honoured for as much as they
can give, while new schools arise to supply their
deficiencies, and Mechanics’ Institutes, or some
kindred establishments, flourish by the side of
both. This state of things, this variety in the
pursuit of knowledge, can exist only where there
is a freedom of thought, and consequent diversity
of opinion, which argues a vigorous idea of
liberty.
The observer must not, however, rest satisfied
with ascertaining the proportion of the means of
education to the people who have to be educated.
He must mark the objects for which learning
is pursued. The two most strongly contrasted
cases which can be found are probably those of
Germany and the United States. In the United
States, it is well known, a provision of university
education is made as ample as that of schools for
an earlier stage; yet no one pretends that a highly
finished education is to be looked for in that
country. The cause is obvious. In a young nation,
the great common objects of life are entered upon
earlier, and every preparatory process is gone
through in a more superficial manner. Seats of
learning are numerous and fully attended, both
in Germany and America, and they testify in
each to a pervading desire of knowledge. Here
the agreement ends. The German student may,
without being singular, remain within the walls
CONTINUE
Part 4
90
of his college till time silvers his hairs; or he has
even been known to pass eighteen years among
his books, without once crossing the threshold
of his study. The young American, meanwhile,
satisfied at the end of three years that he knows
as much as his neighbours, settles in a home,
engages in farming or commerce, and plunges into
what alone he considers the business of life.
11
13
As used in line 43, “elastic” most nearly means
A) adaptive.
B) passive.
C) softening.
D) fanciful.
14
As used in line 17, “stronghold” most nearly means
A) boundary.
As used in line 58, “arise” most nearly means
B) mainstay.
A) escalate.
C) mansion.
B) are created.
D) buildup.
C) flare up.
D) spread forth.
12
15
As used in line 29, “antique” most nearly means
A) picturesque.
As used in line 83, “pervading” most nearly means
B) elderly.
A) universal and soulful.
C) legendary.
B) dynamic and overbearing.
D) outdated.
C) lingering and stubborn.
D) abiding and evident.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 16-20 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “What in the
World Is an Exoplanet?” by Pat Brennan
(April 2018), originally published* on nasa.
gov. The term “exoplanet” refers to any
planet located outside our solar system.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
We’re standing on a precipice of scientific
history. The era of early exploration, along
with the first confirmed exoplanet detections,
is giving way to the next phase: sharper and
more sophisticated telescopes, in space and on
the ground. They will go broad but also drill
down. Some will be tasked with taking an ever
more precise population census of these far-off
worlds, nailing down their many sizes and types.
Others will make a closer inspection of individual
planets, their atmospheres, and their potential to
harbor some form of life.
Direct imaging of exoplanets—that is, actual
pictures—will play an increasingly larger role,
though we’ve arrived at our present state of
knowledge mostly through indirect means. The
two main methods rely on wobbles and shadows.
The “wobble” method, called radial velocity,
watches for the telltale jitters of stars as they are
pulled back and forth by the gravitational tugs of
an orbiting planet. The size of the wobble reveals
the “weight,” or mass, of the planet.
This method produced the very first confirmed
exoplanet detections, including 51 Peg in 1995,
discovered by astronomers Michel Mayor and
Didier Queloz. Ground telescopes using the radial
velocity method have discovered nearly 700
planets so far.
But the vast majority of exoplanets have been
found by searching for shadows: the incredibly
tiny dip in the light from a star when a planet
crosses its face. Astronomers call this crossing a
“transit.”
The size of the dip in starlight reveals how big
around the transiting planet is. Unsurprisingly,
this search for planetary shadows is known as the
transit method.
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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NASA’s Kepler space telescope, launched
in 2009, has found nearly 2,700 confirmed
exoplanets this way. Now in its “K2” mission,
Kepler is still discovering new planets, though its
fuel is expected to run out soon.
Each method has its pluses and minuses.
Wobble detections provide the mass of the planet,
but give no information about the planet’s girth,
or diameter. Transit detections reveal the diameter
but not the mass.
But when multiple methods are used together,
we can learn the vital statistics of whole planetary
systems—without ever directly imaging the
planets themselves. The best example so far is the
TRAPPIST-1 system about 40 light-years away,
where seven roughly Earth-sized planets orbit a
small, red star.
The TRAPPIST-1 planets have been examined
with ground and space telescopes. The spacebased studies revealed not only their diameters,
but the subtle gravitational influence these seven
closely packed planets have upon each other; from
this, scientists determined each planet’s mass.
So now we know their masses and their
diameters. We also know how much of the
energy radiated by their star strikes these planets’
surfaces, allowing scientists to estimate their
temperatures. We can even make reasonable
estimates of the light level, and guess at the color
of the sky, if you were standing on one of them.
And while much remains unknown about these
seven worlds, including whether they possess
atmospheres or oceans, ice sheets or glaciers, it’s
become the best-known solar system apart from
our own.
The next generation of space telescopes is upon
us. First up is the launch of TESS, the Transiting
Exoplanet Survey Satellite. This extraordinary
instrument will take a nearly full-sky survey of the
closer, brighter stars to look for transiting planets.
Kepler, the past master of transits, will be passing
the torch of discovery to TESS.
TESS, in turn, will reveal the best candidates
for a closer look with the James Webb Space
Telescope, currently scheduled to launch in
2020. The Webb telescope, deploying a giant,
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segmented, light-collecting mirror that will
ride on a shingle-like platform, is designed to
capture light directly from the planets themselves.
The light then can be split into a multi-colored
spectrum, a kind of bar code showing which gases
are present in the planet’s atmosphere. Webb’s
targets might include “super Earths,” or planets
larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune—
some that could be rocky planets like super-sized
versions of our own.
Little is known about these big planets,
including whether some might be suitable for
life. If we’re very lucky, perhaps one of them
will show signs of oxygen, carbon dioxide and
methane in its atmosphere. Such a mix of gases
would remind us strongly of our own atmosphere,
possibly indicating the presence of life.
But hunting for Earth-like atmospheres on
Earth-sized exoplanets will probably have to wait
for a future generation of even more powerful
space probes in the 2020s or 2030s.
16
18
As used in line 49, “vital” most nearly means
A) significant.
B) vibrant.
C) flourishing.
D) sustaining.
19
As used in line 69, “possess” most nearly means
A) are fixated on.
B) have taken.
C) are home to.
D) have occupied.
20
As used in line 2, “early” most nearly means
As used in line 98, “mix” most nearly means
A) punctual.
A) sequence.
B) primeval.
B) combination.
C) preliminary.
C) confusion.
D) premature.
D) assembly.
17
As used in line 31, “tiny” most nearly means
A) fragile.
B) meaningless.
C) subtle.
D) secondary.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 21-25 are based on the
following Fiction passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “The
Ambiguities Abroad” by Nils Lundgarten
(2016). Dominic, the main character of the
short story from which this excerpt is taken,
is a retired chemist who is on a sightseeing
tour.
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I doubt that many people would look out at
a tan-and-black landscape under a gray sky and
think, “I am free. I am free!” Had anyone other
than the vikings—had even they—ever landed
on Iceland on a rainy Thursday and found that
“freedom! freedom!” was the first thing that came
to mind?
As the bus bounded toward Reykjavik, I
couldn’t help thinking back to how all this would
have gone had I still been yoked to that tour
group—how little freedom I would have enjoyed
as I rode through that wind-whipped volcanic
landscape. Again and again, I scanned the bus in
satisfaction. Empty seats! A week ago, the entire
vehicle would have been populated by my “fellow
travelers.” I would have jealously guarded the
seat next to me, my books and my hat situated on
it in a manner designed to forbid companionship.
Such attempts were never successful enough, but
now there were no companions. The interior of the
bus was dark, the air that circulated through was
crisp. I realized, now, how little I remembered of
any one individual from the group tour, perhaps
beyond our ever-voluble, ever-sunglassed guide
and the quiet, beleaguered fellow who actually
drove the tour bus. I had remained aloof from
them too, cautious of signaling to the younger
and more raucous vacationers that I was ready
to socialize at large. Of course, now, none of it
mattered. The only other people on the Reykjavik
bus were a mother and her four children, all
of them clustered towards the front seats and
preoccupied with their iPads. For them, I had as
little importance as my onetime fellow travelers
on the “Scandinavia Holiday Group Tour” now
had for me.
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The streets of Reykjavik itself were vacant;
I kept on the lookout for another car, a woman
with a baby carriage, a hardy soul on a bicycle,
and found myself disappointed at each new
intersection. Finally, we reached the hotel. The
family with the iPads disembarked promptly;
I would never see them again. As for the hotel
itself, it was not large or imposing by any means.
What it lacked in stature, though, it made up in
its all-too-transparent positioning as an eminently
modern establishment. The lobby was not so much
a lobby as a machine made to deliver hospitality
in the most efficient form possible—nothing but
navy blue furniture, pearl-white walls, fluorescent
lighting. A bowl of flawlessly green apples and
a large carafe of water—a pleasant change from
the unruly collections of candies and pastries that
every Russian hotel seemed to boast—were the
only attempts at refreshment.
When, in short order, I entered my room,
I positively hurled my travel bags down in
anticipation. The trip was not over, and this last
stage would be mine to savor in the isolation
that I had craved for every preceding mile that I
had traveled. Yet as those two bags hit the floor,
something—not quite regret, but something
comparable, something just as tangible—snuffed
out my high spirits. The truth was that I had
waited so long for this moment that its arrival
was quashingly underwhelming. There would no
longer be a litany of complaints humming in the
back of my mind; there would no longer be the
tour guide’s longwinded lectures, the pleasant
pointless chatter of my twenty-five “fellow
travelers.” I would miss them the way that one
misses a tooth that had been aching consistently
yet never too intensely before its extraction, and I
would miss that quiet fellow who drove the bus—
and, having forgotten his name, I will always
think of him as “that quiet fellow who drove the
bus”—in a different way. I had felt that he and
I were somehow united in this ordeal, trying
to conduct our business while other people’s
socialization clamored to get in the way, and
I hadn’t so much as offered him a perfunctory
good-bye.
CONTINUE
Part 4
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21
As used in line 10, “yoked to” most nearly means
As used in line 60, “craved” most nearly means
A) lost to.
A) felt helpless before.
B) encumbered by.
B) worried about.
C) interchangeable with.
C) yearned to have.
D) dependent on.
D) been dependent on.
25
22
As used in line 44, “imposing” most nearly means
As used in line 76, “think of” most nearly means
A) virtuous.
A) show consideration for.
B) sturdy.
B) find ways to honor.
C) sufficient.
C) make reference to.
D) impressive.
D) ask about.
23
As used in line 53, “collections” most nearly means
A) assortments.
B) networks.
C) compositions.
D) stockpiles.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 26-30 are based on the
following Social Studies passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Samantha
Wallace, “Linking Isolated Languages:
Linguistic Relationships of the Carabayo.”
Originally published* on EveryONE, the blog
of the research site Plos One.
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In 2010, English clocked in at over 360 million
native speakers, and it is the third-most-commonly
used native language, right behind Mandarin
Chinese and Spanish. While these languages
spread, however, other indigenous languages
decline at an accelerated pace. A fraction of
these enigmatic languages belong to uncontacted
indigenous groups of the Amazonian rainforest,
groups of people in South America who have
little to no interaction with societies beyond their
own. Many of these groups choose to remain
uncontacted by the rest of the world. Because of
their isolation, not much is known about these
languages beyond their existence.
The researchers of a recent PLOS ONE
paper investigated one such language, that of
the Carabayo people who live in the Colombian
Amazon rainforest. Working with the relatively
scarce historical data that exists for the Carabayo
language—only 50 words have been recorded
over time—the authors identified similarities
between Carabayo and Yurí and Tikuna, two
known languages of South America that constitute
the current language family Ticuna-Yurí. Based
on the correspondences, the authors posit a
possible genealogical connection between these
languages.
Few resources were available to the authors in
this endeavor. They analyzed historical wordlists
collected during the last encounter with the
Carabayo people in 1969—the only linguistic data
available from this group—against wordlists for
the Yurí language. In addition, they sought the
expertise of a native speaker of Tikuna, a linguist
trained in Tikuna’s many dialects. Using these
resources, the authors broke down the Carabayo
words into their foundational forms, starting with
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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consonants and vowels. They then compared
them to similarly deconstructed words in Yurí and
Tikuna.
The examination involved the evaluation of
similarities in the basic building blocks of these
words: the number of times a specific sound (or
phoneme) appeared; the composition and patterns
of the smallest grammatical units of a word (a
morpheme); and the meanings attached to these
words. When patterns appeared between Carabayo
and either Yurí or Tikuna, the authors considered
whether or not the languages’ similarities
constituted stronger correspondences. They also
paid attention to the ways in which these words
would have been used by the Carabayo when the
lists were originally made many years ago.
The Yurí language was first recorded in the
19th century, but it is thought to have become
extinct since then. From these lists, five words
stood out: in Carabayo, ao ‘father’, hono ‘boy’,
hako ‘well!’, and a complex form containing
both the Yurí word from warm, noré, and the Yurí
word, t∫au, which corresponds in English to ‘I’
or ‘my’. Given the evidence, the authors contend
that the strongest link between Carabayo and Yurí
is found in the correspondence of t∫au. The study
of other languages has indicated that first person
pronouns are particularly resistant to “borrowing,”
or the absorption of one language’s vocabulary
into another. Therefore, the authors surmise
it is unlikely in this instance that either of the
languages absorbed t∫au from the other, but that
they share a genealogical link.
Similarly, the comparison of Carabayo
words to words of the living language of Tikuna
provided a high number of matches, including in
Carabayo gudda ‘wait’ and gu ‘yes’. The matches
especially exhibit sound correspondences of
Carabayo g (or k) and the loss of the letter n in
certain circumstances.
Although it is possible that the Carabayo
language represents a language that had not yet
been documented until the time of 1969, the
results of the researchers’ evaluation have led
them to conclude that Carabayo more likely
belongs to the language family of Ticuna-Yurí.
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The relationship of Carabayo to Yurí and
Tikuna changes the structure of the Ticuna-Yurí
family by placing Carabayo on the map as a
member of that family. The Tikuna language, once
considered to be the sole surviving member of
the Ticuna-Yurí family, might now have a sibling,
and the identity of a barely known language has
become that much more defined.
26
29
As used in line 63, “study” most nearly means
A) experimentation.
B) examination.
C) estimation.
D) education.
30
As used in line 7, “enigmatic” most nearly means
As used in line 88, “considered” most nearly means
A) ultimately baffling.
A) honored.
B) purposefully bizarre.
B) attempted.
C) completely hidden.
C) solicited.
D) extremely localized.
D) determined.
27
As used in line 28, “available to” most nearly means
A) compliant with.
B) sympathetically inclined towards.
C) understandable to.
D) readily accessible to.
28
As used in line 46, “attached to” most nearly means
A) submissive to.
B) trailing from.
C) attributed to.
D) allied with.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 31-35 are based on the
following Science passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Fruit Fly
Mating Driven by a Tweak in a Specific Brain
Circuit” (July 2018). Originally published* by
the National Institutes of Health.
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According to a new National Institutes of
Health-funded study, it is not destiny that brings
two fruit flies together, but an evolutionary
matchmaker of sorts that made tiny adjustments
to their brains’ mating circuits, so they would be
attracted to one another while rejecting advances
from other, even closely-related, species. The
results, published in Nature, may help explain
how a specific female scent triggers completely
different responses in different male flies.
“This study reveals how a very small tweak
in brain wiring can result in large changes
in very complex social behaviors, which can
ultimately determine the fate of a species,” said
Jim Gnadt, Ph.D., program director at the NIH’s
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS), which supported the study.
“Understanding how variation in brain circuits
leads to changes in behavior is one of the primary
goals of the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative and this
study provides a piece of the puzzle.”
Vanessa Ruta, Ph.D., professor at Rockefeller
University in New York City, and her colleagues
used cutting-edge genetic tools to compare the
brain circuits behind courtship behavior in two
closely related species of fruit fly, D. melanogaster
and D. simulans.
Previous studies showed that although
males from both species could detect a specific
pheromone, or scent, called 7,11-heptacosadiene
(7,11-HD), their reactions to it were very different.
Male D. melanogaster flies found it attractive
while D. simulans males avoided females that
carried it. In this study, Dr. Ruta and her team
discovered that slight differences in the way the
flies’ brains are wired may control these opposite
reactions.
“From a fly’s perspective, courtship is the
*See Page 263 for the citation for this text.
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most important decision it will make, and so
evolutionary processes have really fine-tuned flies’
brains to ensure optimal behaviors, leading them
to their ideal mates,” said Dr. Ruta.
In fruit flies, pheromones are detected by
sensory neurons on the legs, and that information
travels to P1 neurons that sit in the lateral
protocerebral complex (LPC) in the brain. In
between the sensory and P1 neurons, the wiring
splits so that the P1 cells can be either turned on
or off.
P1 neurons trigger courtship activity in D.
melanogaster males but have not been studied
in other fly species. When the P1 neurons were
turned on in D. simulans males, they tried mating
with nearby objects including unsuitable targets
such as females from different species as well as
rotating magnets. This suggests that P1 neurons
may be important for sparking courtship behaviors
across species.
Dr. Ruta and her team used state-of-theart technology to watch brain cells light up
in real time as male flies were exposed to D.
melanogaster and D. simulans females releasing
7,11-HD. When D. melanogaster males were
exposed to females from their species, there was
a lot of activity by the P1 neurons. Exposure to D.
simulans females did not turn on those neurons.
However, P1 neurons in the D. simulans males did
not light up when they were exposed to females
from their species, suggesting that differences
in P1 neurons may underlie species-specific
responses to 7,11-HD.
Additional experiments suggested that as
pheromone signals traveled from the legs to
P1 neurons, that information was conveyed
differently in the two species of fruit fly by brain
cells that communicate directly with P1 neurons.
Specifically, P1 neurons appeared to receive
lots of excitation in D. melanogaster flies but
got more calming signals in D. simulans flies,
which led to opposite responses when the animals
were exposed to 7,11-HD. These findings also
suggested that in some species of flies, absence of
pheromone signaling may be more attractive than
the presence of certain scents.
CONTINUE
Part 4
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Future experiments will look at similar
behaviors in other species of fruit flies. More
research is needed to learn the mechanisms that
drive evolutionary changes in brain circuitry,
which may have important consequences for
individual and social behavior.
33
As used in line 45, “sit in” most nearly means
A) watch over.
B) linger near.
C) are located at.
D) assert themselves for.
31
As used in line 9, “triggers” most nearly means
34
A) inflames.
As used in line 68, “exposed to” most nearly means
B) produces.
A) defined for.
C) releases.
B) vulnerable to.
D) undertakes.
C) pinpointed by.
D) presented with.
32
As used in line 36, “wired” most nearly means
35
A) transmitted.
As used in line 79, “more calming” most nearly
means
B) suspended.
C) structured.
A) less agitating.
D) aggravated.
B) less ambivalent.
C) less inspiring.
D) less timid.
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CONTINUE
Part 4
Questions 36-40 are based on the
following History passage.
This passage is adapted from The
Impossibilities of Anarchism (1895) by
George Bernard Shaw. In its most extreme
form, “anarchism” promotes the abolition
of formal government; less extreme variants
promote radical and expanded individual
liberty.
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40
45
If the individual chooses, as in most cases he
will, to believe and worship as his fellows do, he
finds temples built and services organized at a
cost to himself which he hardly feels. The clothes,
the food, the furniture which he is most likely to
prefer are ready for him in the shops; the schools
in which his children can be taught what their
fellow citizens expect them to know are within
fifteen minutes’ walk of his door; and the red lamp
of the most approved pattern of doctor shines
reassuringly at the corner of the street. He is free
to live with the women of his family without
suspicion or scandal; and if he is not free to marry
them, what does that matter to him, since he does
not wish to marry them? And so happy may be his
dole, in spite of his slavery.
“Yes,” cries some eccentric individual; “but all
this is untrue of me. I want to marry my deceased
wife’s sister. I am prepared to prove that your
authorized system of medicine is nothing but a
debased survival of witchcraft. Your schools are
machines for forcing spurious learning on children
in order that your universities may stamp them
as educated men when they have finally lost all
power to think for themselves. The tall silk hats
and starched linen shirts which you force me to
wear, and without which I cannot successfully
practice as a physician, clergyman, schoolmaster,
lawyer, or merchant, are inconvenient, unsanitary,
ugly, pompous, and offensive. . . Under color of
protecting my person and property you forcibly
take my money to support an army of soldiers
and policemen for the execution of barbarous and
detestable laws; for the waging of wars which
I abhor; and for the subjection of my person to
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those legal rights of property which compel me to
sell myself for a wage to a class the maintenance
of which I hold to be the greatest evil of our time.
Your tyranny makes my very individuality a
hindrance to me: I am outdone and outbred by the
mediocre, the docile, the time-serving. Evolution
under such conditions means degeneracy:
therefore I demand the abolition of all these
officious compulsions, and proclaim myself an
Anarchist.”
The proclamation is not surprising under the
circumstances; but it does not mend the matter
in the least, nor would it if every person were to
repeat it with enthusiasm, and the whole people
to fly to arms for Anarchism. The majority cannot
help its tyranny even if it would. The giant
Winkelmeier must have found our doorways
inconvenient, just as men of five feet or less find
the slope of the floor in a theatre not sufficiently
steep to enable them to see over the heads of those
in front. But whilst the average height of a man
is 5ft. 8in. there is no redress for such grievances.
Builders will accommodate doors and floors to the
majority, and not to the minority. For since either
the majority or the minority must be incommoded,
evidently the more powerful must have its way.
There may be no indisputable reason why it
ought not; and any clever Tory can give excellent
reasons why it ought not; but the fact remains that
it will, whether it ought or not. And this is what
really settles the question as between democratic
majorities and minorities. Where their interests
conflict, the weaker side must go to the wall,
because, as the evil involved is no greater than
that of the stronger going to the wall, the majority
is not restrained by any scruple from compelling
the weaker to give way.
In practice, this does not involve either the
absolute power of majorities, or “the infallibility
of the odd man.” There are some matters in which
the course preferred by the minority in no way
obstructs that preferred by the majority. There are
many more in which the obstruction is easier to
bear than the cost of suppressing it. For it costs
something to suppress even a minority of one.
The commonest example of that minority is the
CONTINUE
Part 4
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lunatic with a delusion; yet it is found quite safe
to entertain dozens of delusions, and be generally
an extremely selfish and troublesome idiot, in
spite of the power of majorities; for until you go
so far that it clearly costs less to lock you up than
to leave you at large, the majority will not take the
trouble to set itself in action against you. Thus a
minimum of individual liberty is secured, under
any system, to the smallest minority.
36
38
As used in line 57, “grievances” most nearly means
A) injuries.
B) tragedies.
C) negligences.
D) inconveniences.
39
As used in line 25, “power” most nearly means
As used in line 67, “interests” most nearly means
A) property.
A) fascinations.
B) fame.
B) specialties.
C) ability.
C) inclinations.
D) motion.
D) benefits.
37
40
As used in line 30, “color” most nearly means
As used in line 72, “give way” most nearly means
A) the variation.
A) become forgiving.
B) the drama.
B) ensure equality.
C) the quality.
C) abandon individuality.
D) the premise.
D) submit to authority.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 148.
Do not turn to any other section.
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147
Answer Key
Word in Context
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
A
A
D
C
C
C
D
D
B
A
B
D
A
B
D
C
C
A
C
B
Passage 5
Passage 6
Passage 7
Passage 8
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
B
D
A
C
C
D
D
C
B
D
B
C
C
D
A
C
D
D
C
D
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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148
Part 5
Paired Passages
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 5
Paired Passages
Passage Types
On each SAT Reading section, you will need to deal with EXACTLY one pairing: a selection in either Science
or History that features two relatively short passages that address the same topic, and that are meant to be
read and analyzed together. These paired passages can be difficult for readers who have trouble coordinating
information and perspectives—but can be relatively easy for test-takers who comprehend topics more
effectively by factoring in multiple sources. Regardless of your current aptitudes, each paired passage can be
run through the same strategy, with careful modifications depending on passage type.
Science Pairings
The paired Science passages cover the same range of topics as the single Science passages, as described on
Page 52. Stylistically, these readings can also be much more accessible than paired History passages. Still,
paired Science can be more difficult for readers who are accustomed to a straightforward pro-con structure,
which appears with great regularity in paired History but NOT in paired Science. These readings, instead, can
give you a sound early sense of the many different ways in which two SAT passages can play off one another.
Possible combinations include
•
Sharp disagreement (two contradictory theories or experiments)
•
Moderate disagreement (two passages that point out exceptions or convey skepticism)
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Part 5: Paired Passages
•
One neutral or balanced author, one extremely biased author
•
One passage providing essential background, one pointing out a new approach or a new aspect of the
topic
•
One passage explaining a finding, one analyzing a specific point or repercussion of that finding
As this list of statements indicates, there will ALMOST ALWAYS be a core relationship between the two
passages that can be summed up in a fairly concise statement. Your task is to determine what this relationship
is—since the SAT features questions on exactly this topic—and then to determine a few of the smaller
similarities and differences that the passages involve.
For ALL paired passages, ask yourself the following core questions.
1. What is the main idea and main tone (positive or negative, if relevant) of each passage?
2. How can the relationship between the passages be summed up in a single phrase or sentence?
3. In what smaller ways are the passages the same or different?
You will find that thinking analytically about this information will prepare you for the standard passage
questions, for BOTH Science and History. Here is a list of the Paired Passage questions that have appeared
prominently on the SAT.
•
Relationship between the passages (opposition, agreement, one expanding upon the other, etc.)
•
Purposes of the passages (sometimes BOTH passages serving the same purpose, despite other differences)
•
Point of similarity (even if the passages are in overall disagreement) or point of difference (even if the
passages are in overall agreement)
•
Techniques used by the authors (often similarity, though noting differences may be required)
•
How the author of one passage would respond to an element of the other passage (possibly a main idea or
a main point, possibly a detail)
These questions will always be COMPLETELY evidence-based; in fact, the three or four questions that focus
on passage comparison may include a Command of Evidence item. You must keep this rule firmly in mind
even when dealing with question types that seem to require imagination or interpretation, as the final question
type (“How would the author . . . ”) appears to at first glance. In reality, this question type does NOT require
any sort of cleverness. Simply determine one author’s position, using either an effective overall read or a
relevant set of lines, and use THAT information to determine a hypothetical response.
Working with paired Science passages is also made easier by similarities between these readings and the
single Science entries. You will find that paired Science has its own checklist. On the whole, it adapts the
standard “inquiry, experiment, outcomes” structure to account for the new, comparison-based analysis that
you will need to perform.
151
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Part 5: Paired Passages
Science Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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Part 5: Paired Passages
History Pairings
Like the single History passages, paired History passages have a track record of prioritizing readings from the
late 18th to the early 20th century. All of the standard difficulties of the single History passages—vocabulary,
sentence structure, challenging imagery, challenging lines of reasoning—can re-appear here. There is also the
added difficulty of dealing with questions that require you to compare the authors’ viewpoints, arguments, and
rhetorical devices.
Though these passages are widely regarded as representing one of the test’s supreme points of difficulty,
here is some good news: these passages CAN be rather predictable. The College Board itself has repeatedly
returned to the topics of women’s rights and women’s status in its paired History passages—though there are
other forms that the predictability of this section can take. Perhaps the most important is the fact that, quite
often, the paired authors are in DIRECT OPPOSITION to each other.
Consider the typical Official SAT passage devoted to the topic of women’s rights. One author (often the
first in the pair) typically argues in favor of measures that restrict women’s opportunities and that would
be considered sexist or chauvinistic by an enlightened reader today; another author (often the second in the
pair) argues that women should be granted new rights, responsibilities, or respect. The passages will not
always follow this opposition structure, but they do so often enough that you can expect author-against-author
opposition with some regularity.
While the core strategy for Science and History passages will always remain consistent, History passages do
call for some shifts in emphasis as you search for key elements. Remember, some History passages may be
extremely light on empirical facts and examples. Look instead for the following features, which are central to
working with this passage type in both single and paired form.
•
Opponents and counter-arguments cited by each author (INCLUDING the author of the other passage and
his or her points)
•
Tones, attitudes, and emotions (INCLUDING possible shifts or modifications as each passage moves
along
•
Stylistic techniques and rhetorical strategies (including imagery, questions, hypothetical scenarios,
addresses to an audience, direct uses of the author’s own experience)
To approach these issues with clarity, use the checklist for paired History passages which is provided on the
next page. You will find that this checklist mostly modifies the single History checklist to streamline your
ideas about the most challenging features of this passage type and to account for the compare-and-contrast
items that conclude each question set.
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Part 5: Paired Passages
History Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Techniques: _________________
_________
Techniques: _________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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154
Practice Exercises Begin on the Next Page
Part 5
Questions 1-10 are based on the following
passages.
35
Passage 1 is adapted from “New 3D
Measurements Improve Understanding of
Geomagnetic Storm Hazards,” while
Passage 2 is adapted from “Preparing the
Nation for Intense Space Weather.” Both
passages are news releases* from the U.S.
Geological Survey.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
40
45
Passage 1
Space weather events such as geomagnetic
storms can disturb the earth’s magnetic
field, interfering with electric power grids,
radio communication, GPS systems, satellite
operations, oil and gas drilling, and air travel.
Scientists use models of the earth’s structure and
measurements of Earth’s magnetic field taken at
USGS observatories to determine which sections
of the electrical grid might lose power during a
geomagnetic storm.
In a new U.S. Geological Survey study,
scientists calculated voltages along power lines in
the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. using 3D data
of the earth. These data, taken at Earth’s surface,
reflect the complex structure of the earth below
the measurement sites and were collected during
the National Science Foundation EarthScope
USArray project. The scientists found that for
many locations, the voltages they calculated
were significantly different from those based
on previous 1D calculations, with the 3D data
producing the most precise results.
“Using the most accurate data available to
determine vulnerable areas of the power grid
can help maintain life-saving communications
and protect national security during severe
geomagnetic storms,” said Greg Lucas, a USGS
scientist and the lead author of the study. “Our
study suggests that 3D data of the earth should be
used whenever they are available.”
Electric currents from a March 1989
geomagnetic storm caused a blackout in Québec
and numerous glitches in the U.S. power grid. In
past studies, scientists using simple 1D models of
50
55
60
65
70
75
*See Page 263 for the citations for these texts.
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156
the earth would have found that 16 high-voltage
electrical transmission lines were disturbed in the
mid-Atlantic region during the storm, resulting
in the blackout. However, by using realistic 3D
data to calculate the 1989 scenario, the new study
found that there might have actually been 62
vulnerable lines.
“This discrepancy between 1D- and 3D-based
calculations of the 1989 storm demonstrates the
importance of realistic data, rather than relying on
previous 1D models, to determine the impact that
a geomagnetic storm has on power grids,” Lucas
said.
Passage 2
The entire Canadian province of Québec,
which covers twice as much area as the State of
Texas, was plunged into darkness on the morning
of March 13, 1989. An intense geomagnetic storm
seized Québec’s power-grid system, tripping
relays, damaging high-voltage transformers, and
causing a blackout.
This geomagnetic storm’s impact on Québec
pales in comparison to what could happen in
the future. A report by the National Academy
of Sciences suggests that a rare but powerful
magnetic superstorm could cause continentwide loss of electricity and substantial damage
to power-grid infrastructure that could persist
for months and cost the Nation in excess of $1
trillion.
“Utility groups rely on historical data collected
by long-running USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)
magnetic observatories to see what a worst-case
scenario could look like,” said Mark Olson, a
standards developer with the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
“These data help NERC draft standards aimed
at maintaining reliable operations of the North
American power grid.”
When a large sunspot emerges, the likelihood
of an abrupt emission of radiation and an intense
solar wind becomes greater. When these winds
reach the Earth, electrically charged particles
enter the Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and
interior, inducing a geomagnetic storm.
CONTINUE
Part 5
1
5
In Passage 1, Greg Lucas argues that 1D voltage
calculation models should be
The author of Passage 2 mentions the report by
the National Academy of Sciences in order to call
attention to
A) prioritized since they have proven useful in the
past.
A) the steep financial costs of studying
environmental disasters.
B) adjusted to more closely resemble 3D models.
B) the threats posed by magnetic superstorms.
C) investigated in light of data on recent crises.
C) the increasing frequency of superstorms.
D) abandoned in favor of a more accurate method.
D) gradual improvements in the technology used to
study magnetic superstorms.
2
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
6
The final paragraph of Passage 2 mainly serves to
A) Lines 14-18 (“These . . . project”)
A) outline a process central to the author’s analysis.
B) Lines 23-27 (“Using . . . Lucas”)
B) justify a standard method of classification.
C) Lines 33-38 (“In past . . . blackout”)
C) summarize the most famous facts about a disaster.
D) Lines 42-47 (“This . . . said”)
D) support the thesis argued by a single researcher.
3
7
As used in line 36, “disturbed” most nearly means
Which choice best describes the relationship between
the two passages?
A) vexed.
B) aggravated.
A) Passage 1 shows how a new consensus regarding
a disaster described in Passage 2 has emerged
over time.
C) impaired.
D) removed.
B) Passage 1 describes a project that retrospectively
analyzes an event explained in Passage 2.
4
C) Passage 1 presents an unexpected viewpoint that
is given statistical support in Passage 2.
As used in line 50, “plunged into” most nearly means
D) Passage 1 locates various objections to the
research described in Passage 2.
A) immersed in.
B) assailed by.
C) dependent on.
D) preoccupied with.
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157
CONTINUE
Part 5
Questions 11-20 are based on the
following passages.
8
One central tension between the passages is that
Passage 1 is adapted from the article
“Reconstruction” (1866) by Frederick
Douglass. Passage 2 is adapted from Up
from Slavery: An Autobiography (1901)
by Booker T. Washington. Both men were
African-American authors and activists.
A) only Passage 1 points out the inconveniences that
geomagnetic storms can cause for communities.
B) only Passage 1 presents a contrast that favors one
procedure over another.
C) only Passage 2 describes how the 1989
geomagnetic storm influenced a national power
grid.
D) only Passage 2 cites the widely-accepted
definition of a geomagnetic storm.
Line
5
9
On the basis of Passage 2, Marc Olson would respond
to the information in Passage 1 by pointing out that
10
A) the passage rightly indicates the problems with
1D storm modeling, but neglects recent
modifications to this modeling technique.
B) the passage may be too negative in its assessment,
since past data collection has been important to
maintaining infrastructure.
15
C) the passage presents useful data and suggests new
possibilities for weather-related research.
D) the passage’s valid arguments about the nature of
geomagnetic storms are complicated by its
unrealistic estimate of the extent of the 1989
storm.
20
25
10
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
30
A) Lines 51-54 (“An intense . . . blackout”)
B) Lines 57-63 (“A report . . . $1 trillion”)
C) Lines 64-67 (“Utility . . . Olson”)
D) Lines 70-72 (“These . . . grid”)
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35
158
Passage 1
The people . . . want a reconstruction such
as will protect loyal men, black and white, in
their persons and property; such a one as will
cause Northern industry, Northern capital, and
Northern civilization to flow into the South, and
make a man from New England as much at home
in Carolina as elsewhere in the Republic. No
Chinese wall can now be tolerated. The South
must be opened to the light of law and liberty,
and this session of Congress is relied upon to
accomplish this important work.
The plain, common-sense way of doing this
work, as intimated at the beginning, is simply to
establish in the South one law, one government,
one administration of justice, one condition to
the exercise of the elective franchise, for men
of all races and colors alike. This great measure
is sought as earnestly by loyal white men as by
loyal blacks, and is needed alike by both. Let
sound political prescience but take the place of an
unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.
Men denounce the negro for his prominence
in this discussion, but it is no fault of his that in
peace as in war, that in conquering Rebel armies
as in reconstructing the rebellious States, the right
of the negro is the true solution of our national
troubles. The stern logic of events, which goes
directly to the point, disdaining all concern for
the color or features of men, has determined the
interests of the country as identical with and
inseparable from those of the negro.
The policy that emancipated and armed
the negro—now seen to have been wise and
proper by the dullest—was not certainly more
sternly demanded than is now the policy of
CONTINUE
Part 5
enfranchisement. If with the negro was success in
war, and without him failure, so in peace it will be
found that the nation must fall or flourish with the
negro.
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Passage 2
In every part of the South, during the
Reconstruction period, schools, both day and
night, were filled to overflowing with people of
all ages and conditions, some being as far along
in age as sixty and seventy years. The ambition
to secure an education was most praiseworthy
and encouraging. The idea, however, was too
prevalent that, as soon as one secured a little
education, in some unexplainable way he would
be free from most of the hardships of the world,
and, at any rate, could live without manual labour.
There was a further feeling that a knowledge,
however little, of the Greek and Latin languages
would make one a very superior human being,
something bordering almost on the supernatural.
I remember that the first coloured man whom I
saw who knew something about foreign languages
impressed me at the time as being a man of all
others to be envied. . . .
It is easy to find fault, to remark what might
have been done, and perhaps, after all, and under
all the circumstances, those in charge of the
conduct of affairs did the only thing that could be
done at the time. Still, as I look back now over
the entire period of our freedom, I cannot help
feeling that it would have been wiser if some plan
could have been put in operation which would
have made the possession of a certain amount
of education or property, or both, a test for the
exercise of the franchise, and a way provided by
which this test should be made to apply honestly
and squarely to both the white and black races.
Though I was but little more than a youth
during the period of Reconstruction, I had the
feeling that mistakes were being made, and
that things could not remain in the condition
that they were in then very long. I felt that the
Reconstruction policy, so far as it related to my
race, was in a large measure on a false foundation,
was artificial and forced.
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159
11
The first paragraph of Passage 1 serves to
A) depict Douglass himself as moderate and open to
compromise.
B) explain the difficulties inherent in a new attempt
to promote civic freedom.
C) define the responsibilities that face both Congress
and the nation as a whole.
D) urge cooperation between two vast regions that
remain antagonistic.
12
In Passage 1, Douglass depicts white Americans as
A) cautious that the South will experience a new era
of discord.
B) similar to black Americans in their desires for the
future of the South.
C) confident that traditional prejudices can be
eliminated by new laws.
D) uncomfortable with political measures that would
involve new sacrifices.
13
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 17-19 (“This . . . both”)
B) Lines 19-21 (“Let . . . done”)
C) Lines 22-27 (“Men . . . troubles”)
D) Lines 36-39 (“If with . . . negro”)
CONTINUE
Part 5
14
18
The main purpose of Passage 2 is to
One central difference between how Douglass
(Passage 1) and Washington (Passage 2) present their
ideas is that
A) note the deficiencies of a broad endeavor.
B) justify the premises of an unpopular position.
A) Douglass outlines the origins of slavery in the
South while Washington emphasizes the need to
move past historical barriers.
C) question the virtues of a group of leaders.
D) propose a series of practical improvements.
B) Douglass speaks on behalf of large groups while
Washington draws on personal experience.
15
C) Douglass cites specific opponents while
Washington seeks to foster a spirit of unity.
As used in line 58, “envied” most nearly means
D) Douglass welcomes the possibility of further
upheaval while Washington endorses moderation.
A) undermined.
B) exceeded.
C) admired.
D) disdained.
19
Washington would respond to Douglass’s ideas about
the “plain, common-sense way” (line 12) by
16
A) expressing the sentiment that racial prejudice
rendered Douglass’s plan impossible.
As used in line 79, “artificial” most nearly means
A) maliciously imitated.
B) warning that Douglass’s vision of political
progress would find few supporters in the South.
B) outlandishly expressive.
C) sympathizing with Douglass’s apparent belief that
promoting political participation would naturally
create an educated populace.
C) unnaturally imposed.
D) carefully fabricated.
D) agreeing that regulating elective franchise in a
way that did not put either black or white citizens
at a disadvantage was a worthy goal.
17
Which statement best describes the relationship
between the two passages?
20
A) Passage 1 casts doubt on the wisdom of authority
figures; Passage 2 praises those same figures.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) Passage 1 lists a variety of objectives; Passage 2
establishes a more narrow focus on education.
A) Lines 44-46 (“The ambition . . . encouraging”)
C) Passage 1 states that reform is urgently needed;
Passage 2 argues that reform should be avoided.
B) Lines 51-54 (“There . . . supernatural”)
C) Lines 64-71 (“I cannot . . . races”)
D) Passage 1 urges a spirit of harmony; Passage 2
suggests that such cooperation is impossible.
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D) Lines 72-76 (“Though . . . long”)
160
CONTINUE
Part 5
Questions 21-30 are based on the
following passages.
35
Passage 1 is adapted from Jyoti
Madhusoodanan, “Could sleepless nights of
terror be good for you?” (2012), published*
on the PLOS One community blog
EveryOne. Passage 2 is adapted from a news
release* from the National Institute on Aging,
“Does poor sleep raise risk for Alzheimer’s
disease?” (2016).
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
Passage 1
Lying awake and listening for demonic
footsteps after Paranormal Activity 4 may turn
out to be more helpful to your mental health than
trying to fall asleep. A study published earlier this
month in PLOS ONE shows that losing sleep can
prevent frightening memories from taking hold in
the brain, at least in rats.
A good night’s sleep has many advantages,
including improving our ability to recollect facts
or learned motor skills. Losing sleep impairs
these kinds of memory, but the impact of sleep
deprivation on other kinds of memory, such as that
of traumatic events, is still poorly understood.
In this study, the authors Tankesh Kumar and
Sushil Jha found that when rats were trained to
develop a conditioned fear response to a sound
they heard, this response was twice as strong in
rats that slept for six hours after the training than
in those that stayed awake for this period of time.
According to the authors, this result suggests that
the rats that stayed awake hadn’t learned to be
afraid of the sound as well as the better-rested
animals had.
Despite the ill effects of sleep deprivation
and associated poor memory under other
circumstances, the authors suggest that losing
sleep after a traumatic event can actually help
prevent fearful memories from taking hold in the
brain, potentially providing long-term benefits like
reducing the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) or anxiety disorders.
Related PLOS ONE research published last
year studied the effects of a similar, odor-induced
*See Page 263 for the citations for these texts.
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161
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
fear conditioning exercise in rats, and observed
changes in brain activity during sleep following
the exercise. The researchers also found that these
changes correlated with the strength of the fear
response observed in rats the next day.
Passage 2
Disturbed sleep—whether due to illness, pain,
anxiety, depression, or a sleep disorder—can
lead to trouble concentrating, remembering,
and learning. A return to normal sleep patterns
usually eases these problems. But in older people,
disturbed sleep may have more dire and longlasting consequences.
Scientists long believed that the initial buildup
of the beta-amyloid protein in the brain, an early
biological sign of Alzheimer’s, causes disturbed
sleep, Dr. Mackiewicz said. Recently, though,
evidence suggests the opposite may also occur—
disturbed sleep in cognitively normal older adults
contributes to the risk of cognitive decline and
Alzheimer’s disease.
For example, in a study of older men free of
dementia, poor sleep, including greater nighttime
wakefulness, was associated with cognitive
decline over a period of more than 3 years
(Blackwell et al., 2014). Sleep was assessed
through participants’ reports and a device worn on
the wrist that tracks movements during sleep.
Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea may pose
an even greater risk of cognitive impairment.
In a 5-year study of older women, those with
sleep-disordered breathing (SDB)—repeated
arousals from sleep due to breathing disruptions,
as happens in sleep apnea—had a nearly twofold
increase in risk for mild cognitive impairment
(a precursor to Alzheimer’s in some people) or
dementia (Yaffe et al., 2011).
In addition, certain types of poor sleep seem to
be associated with risk of cognitive impairment,
according to Kristine Yaffe, M.D., of the
University of California, San Francisco. These
include hypoxia (low oxygen levels that can be
caused by sleep disorders) and difficulty in falling
or staying asleep.
Evidence of a link between sleep and risk of
CONTINUE
Part 5
80
85
90
95
Alzheimer’s has led to investigations to explain
the brain activity that underlies this connection
in humans. Some recent studies suggest that poor
sleep contributes to abnormal levels of betaamyloid protein in the brain, which in turn leads
to the amyloid plaques found in the Alzheimer’s
brain. These plaques might then affect sleeprelated brain regions, further disrupting sleep.
Studies in laboratory animals show a direct
link between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease. One
study of mice, led by researchers at Washington
University, St. Louis, showed that beta-amyloid
levels naturally rose during wakefulness and fell
during sleep (Kang et al., 2009). Mice deprived
of sleep for 21 days showed significantly greater
beta-amyloid plaques than those that slept
normally. Increasing sleep had the opposite
effect—it reduced the amyloid load.
23
Which piece of information, if true, would make the
findings in the final two paragraphs (lines 24-38) of
Passage 1 problematic?
A) Rats rely more on sound and and sight to navigate
their surroundings than they do on smell.
B) Responses that indicate excitement among rats
are indistinguishable from responses that indicate
fear.
C) Rats have relatively weak long-term memory
capacity under normal circumstances.
D) Odors that stimulate fear in rats are typically
linked to substances that rats do not encounter in
nature.
24
21
Which choice best indicates that the authors of
Passage 2 see dementia as only one form of cognitive
decline?
Which piece of information would add certitude
to the possibility raised by the author in lines 1-4
(“Lying awake . . . asleep”)?
A) Lines 46-49 (“Scientists . . . said”)
A) The effects of sleeplessness have often been
depicted inaccurately in popular culture.
B) Lines 54-58 (“For example . . . 2014”)
C) Lines 70-73 (“In addition . . . San Francisco”)
B) Kumar and Jha considered multiple age groups
for the rats in their study.
D) Lines 87-91 (“One study . . . 2009”)
C) Sleeplessness is now being promoted in the
media as a factor that improves critical thinking.
25
D) The results of the study by Kumar and Jha are
applicable to both rats and humans.
As used in line 61, “pose” most nearly means
A) present.
B) simulate.
22
C) express.
As used in line 24, “ill” most nearly means
D) position.
A) weak.
B) harmful.
C) deadly.
D) repulsive.
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162
CONTINUE
Part 5
26
29
The authors of Passage 2 characterize the “studies”
mentioned in line 80 as
Which choice best describes the relationship between
the two passages?
A) applicable to both humans and small animals.
A) Passage 1 traces a desirable connection between
sleep deprivation and memory loss, while
Passage 2 links sleep loss and impaired cognition.
B) authoritative yet currently under-appreciated.
C) contradicted by other experiments that focus on
beta-amyloid proteins.
B) Passage 1 indicates that sleep deprivation can
increase the intensity of certain memories, while
Passage 2 contradicts this same idea.
D) consequential but not completely verified.
C) Passage 1 considers how studies of humans
and animals relate to one another, while
Passage 2 questions whether such studies are
interchangeable.
27
On the basis of the information present in the
passages, the author of Passage 1 would react to the
first paragraph of Passage 2 with
D) Passage 1 outlines a scientific solution to a
common problem, while Passage 2 debunks the
idea that sleep research has such immediate
practical applications.
A) profound surprise, since the assumed connection
between sleeplessness in humans and memory
loss had apparently been disproven.
B) open objection, since sleeplessness is in rare
cases instrumental in preserving memories.
30
C) thorough skepticism, since there is not a useful
consensus definition of a normal sleep pattern.
One key similarity between how the two passages
present recent research is that
D) general concurrence, since a positive correlation
between sound sleep and memory has been
demonstrated.
A) both passages define technical terms that have
become central to the study of neuroscience for
animals and humans alike.
B) both passages consider multiple avenues of
research that imply the virtues of an
interdisciplinary approach.
28
C) both passages credit the work of specific
scientists but do not offer exact quotes from
research reports.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 1-4 (“Lying . . . asleep”)
D) both passages suggest connections between
the presence of particular stimuli and
fundamental changes in brain structure.
B) Lines 4-7 (“A study . . . rats”)
C) Lines 8-10 (“A good . . . skills”)
D) Lines 11-13 (“but the . . . understood”)
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163
CONTINUE
Part 5
Questions 31-40 are based on the
following passages.
40
Passage 1 is adapted from “The Girl of the
Period” and Other Social Essays (1883) by
E. Lynn Linton. Passage 2 is adapted from A
Domestic Problem: Work and Culture in the
Household (1895) by A.M. Diaz.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Passage 1
To most men, indeed, the feminine strongmindedness that can discuss immoral problems
without blushing is a quality as unwomanly
as a well-developed biceps or a “shoulder-ofmutton” fist. It is sympathy, not antagonism—it is
companionship, not rivalry, still less supremacy,
that they like in women; and some women with
brains as well as learning—for the two are not the
same thing—understand this, and keep their blue
stockings well covered by their petticoats. Others,
enthusiasts for freedom of thought and intellectual
rights, show theirs defiantly; and meet with their
reward. Men shrink from them. Even clever men,
able to meet them on their own ground, do not
feel drawn to them; while all but high-class minds
are humiliated by their learning and dwarfed
by their moral courage. And no man likes to
feel humiliated or dwarfed in the presence of a
woman, and because of her superiority.
But the brains most useful to women, and most
befitting their work in life, are those which show
themselves in common-sense, in good judgment,
and that kind of patient courage which enables
them to bear small crosses and great trials alike
with dignity and good temper. Mere intellectual
culture, however valuable it may be in itself, does
not equal the worth of this kind of moral power;
for as the true domain of woman is the home, and
her way of ordering her domestic life the best test
of her faculties, mere intellectual culture does
not help in this; and, in fact, is often a hindrance
rather than a help. What good is there in one’s
wife being an accomplished mathematician, a
sound scholar, a first-rate musician, a deeply-read
theologian, if she cannot keep the accounts square,
knows nothing of the management of children,
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164
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
lets herself be cheated by the servants and the
tradespeople, has not her eyes opened to dirt and
disorder, and gives way to a fretful temper on the
smallest provocation?
Passage 2
When a loving couple marry, they unite their
interests, and it is in this union of interests that
they find happiness. We often hear from a wife or
a husband remarks like these: “I only half enjoyed
it, because he (or she) wasn’t there;” “It will
be no pleasure to me unless he (or she) is there
too;” “The company was charming, but still I felt
lonesome there without him (or her).” The phrase
“half enjoy” gives the idea; for a sympathetic
couple are to such a degree one that a pleasure
which comes to either singly can only be half
enjoyed, and even this half-joy is lessened by the
consciousness of what the other is losing.
If it be said that learned women are prone to
think lightly of home comforts and home duties,
to despise physical labor, to look down on the
ignorant, let us hasten to reply that learning is not
culture, and that we want not learned mothers, but
enlightened mothers, wisely educated mothers.
And let us steadfastly and perseveringly assert that
enlightenment and a wise education are essential
to the accomplishment of the mother’s mission.
When the housefather feels the truth of this, then
shall we see him bringing home every publication
he can lay his hands on which treats intelligently
of mental, moral, or physical training. Then shall
we hear him saying to the house-mother, “Cease,
I pray you, this ever-lasting toil. Read, study, rest.
With your solemn responsibilities, it is madness
thus to spend yourself, thus to waste yourself.”
In his home shall the true essentials assume that
position which is theirs by right, and certain
occupations connected with that clamorous square
inch of surface in the upper part of the mouth shall
receive only their due share of attention. For in
one way or another, either by lessening the work
or by hiring workers, the mother shall have her
leisure.
CONTINUE
Part 5
34
31
In Passage 1, Linton recommends which of the
following as a suitable lifestyle for women?
Diaz in Passage 2 presents various quotations in
lines 44-48 for the purpose of
A) Pursuit of skills and attainments that promote a
spirit of practicality
A) signaling that a seemingly exaggerated situation
is in fact realistic.
B) Participation in political institutions in a
thoughtful and unobtrusive manner
B) recounting scenes that occurred in the author’s
own household.
C) Abandonment of any education that does not
relate to household duties
C) explaining a deficiency that men must address
independently.
D) Cultivation of virtues that are completely
different from those valued by men
D) illustrating situations that are assumed to be
familiar to the passage’s readers.
35
32
Which choice most clearly indicates that Diaz in
Passage 2 sees physical labor as unimportant relative
to women’s intellectual duties?
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 10-13 (“Others . . . reward”)
A) Lines 54-58 (“If . . . culture”)
B) Lines 13-15 (“Even . . . them”)
B) Lines 60-62 (“And . . . mission”)
C) Lines 20-22 (“But . . . common-sense”)
C) Lines 63-66 (“When . . . training”)
D) Line 28 (“the true . . . home”)
D) Lines 71-75 (“In his . . . attention”)
33
36
As used in lines 16 and 18, “humiliated” most nearly
means
As used in line 63, “feels” most nearly means
A) rejected.
A) is overwhelmed by.
B) criticized.
B) learns to enjoy.
C) demoted.
C) becomes aware of.
D) overshadowed.
D) casually absorbs.
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165
CONTINUE
Part 5
37
39
One central point of disagreement between the two
passages involves the issue of whether
Diaz in Passage 2 would respond to the ideas about
“Men” (line 13) present in Passage 1 by arguing that
A) women should pursue new legal rights and new
forms of political leadership.
A) men have come to judge women based on
personal merit rather than on appearance.
B) intellectual attainments that rival those of men
can assist women in maintaining harmonious
households.
B) men can be pleased and invigorated by the
company of properly educated women.
C) men who underestimate women’s intellectual
gifts still hold women’s moral virtues in high
regard.
C) traditional marriage arrangements make women
financially and emotionally dependent on their
husbands.
D) men feel more threatened by intelligent members
of their own gender than by intelligent women.
D) popular forms of culture and self-expression are
sufficiently respected by educated men.
40
38
The two passages are similar in that both authors
Each passage serves the purpose of
A) fault men for limiting the educational
opportunities available to women.
A) insisting that the struggle for gender equality has
been accompanied by new challenges.
B) investigate how intelligent men normally react to
strong-minded women.
B) demonstrating that women have learned how to
apply abstract ideas to everyday duties.
C) encourage women to seek compromises that will
ultimately promote better education.
C) recommending activities and ways of thinking
that the author considers appropriate for women.
D) imply that educated women have a tendency to
avoid confrontation.
D) convincing men that adhering to outdated ideas
about women is detrimental to both genders.
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 168.
Do not turn to any other section.
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166
Answer Key on the Next Page
Answer Key
Paired Passages
Reading 1
Reading 2
Reading 3
Reading 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
D
D
C
A
B
A
B
B
B
D
C
B
A
A
C
C
B
B
D
C
D
B
B
B
A
D
D
C
A
C
A
C
D
D
D
C
B
C
B
B
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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168
Part 6
Visual Evidence
Strategy and Practice
Strategy 6
Working with Visuals
Question Fundamentals
On each SAT Reading section, you will need to address TWO passages—the Social Studies reading and one
of the Science readings—that are accompanied by visual evidence. The relevant questions will typically be the
last few in a given passage’s question set. For this reason, you will normally not need to work with the visuals
until you have addressed all of the other question types.
Visuals can take a variety of forms: pie charts, bar charts, line graphs, maps, and tables among them. Regardless
of form, each visual should be addressed using the same tactics, since SAT Reading visuals are surprisingly
easy to misread. Fortunately, there is an efficient two-step process for comprehending the visuals—a process,
moreover, that will often give you the information that you need to address standard question types.
Comprehending the Visuals
Step 1: Determine the Units
Effective work with the visuals requires a strong sense of WHAT quantities are being measured and of HOW
exactly they are being measured. You need to make sure that you can evaluate these issues precisely; even
though such work may seem basic, it is necessary. After all, SAT questions will often contain false answers
that exploit elementary misreadings or faulty assumptions about what exactly a visual is measuring. Some of
the traps to watch for are the following.
- Mistaking a raw number for a percentage, OR a percentage for a raw number
- Confusing two shaded regions in a graph
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- Misreading a key that defines a numerical scale
170
Part 6: Working with Visuals
Rather than constantly wondering if you are falling into one of these traps, prevent these problems in advance
by simply defining the key properties of any visual that you are given. Here are a few to look for.
- Units measured on the x-axis
- Units measured on the y-axis
- What different shaded regions represent
- What boundary lines within a graph represent
- Whether any notes or keys determine how the graph should be read
Now, with these items in mind, consider how to analyze the main components of a graph that is already
familiar from the Social Studies passage in the Diagnostic Test.
Individuals Per Group
Number of Individuals Per Group, Four Food-Sharing Tiers
40
30
20
10
0
0-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
Number of Food-Sharing Ties
Incoming Ties
Outgoing Ties
X-Axis: number of food-sharing ties, divided into four
groups
Y-Axis: number of individuals with a given number of ties
Light Gray: number of individuals who fit the group based
on incoming ties; Dark Gray: number of individuals who
fit the group based on outgoing ties
The chart, as this analysis shows, measures how many individuals fit into any one of four different categories.
It does NOT, to raise one possible trap, measure the percentage of individuals in the community that falls
into each category. Note that there are other traps that may emerge from reading too quickly, such as wrongly
assuming that 0-10 individuals have 8 outgoing ties—a misreading that FLIPS the real reading, the idea that
8 individuals have 0-10 outgoing ties.
To make sure that you have properly read the graph visual, you might even test out a few measurements or
quantities for accuracy. Look, for instance, at the 11-20 number and the light bar. Here, the light bar indicates
incoming ties and rises to almost 13. The graph at this point indicates that 13 individuals have 11-20 incoming
ties and aligns with the earlier reading, the idea that 8 individuals have 0-10 outgoing ties as indicated by the
dark gray bar.
171
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Part 6: Working with Visuals
After achieving this level of accuracy, you can move on to consider any larger trends that are present in the
graph.
Step 2: Determine Overall Relationships
To discern a visual’s overall data relationships, you will need to synthesize information in a manner that does
not bring in any interpretation or extrapolation. The visual itself is all that matters. Here, return to the graph of
food sharing ties from the Diagnostic Test and think about how the different quantities operate.
Incoming Ties (Light Gray), increase
with more individuals for more ties
Outgoing Ties (Dark Gray), 21-30
easily the largest group, others similar
in size
Noticing trends such as these will improve comprehension, but you must also be careful to make sure that the
analysis of the graph does NOT extend beyond working with evidence. For instance, the graph does not consider
information about individuals with 41-50 incoming or outgoing ties. You should NEVER EXTRAPOLATE
in this manner (unless a question prompt explicitly indicates that a trend will continue beyond the given data)
and should avoid thinking about any quantities beyond those present in the visual (unless, again, a question
prompt explicitly introduces a new and valid relationship).
Of course, there may be some cases in which trends are difficult to spot: tables that provide various pieces of
information about groups, planets, substances, or other individual items may present this possibility. If you
are indeed in the presence of such a collection of facts, don’t panic. Simply make sure that you have read the
units for the individual items properly, try to retain some information, and move on to address the questions.
Approaching the Questions
Type 1: Visuals on Their Own
Each group of questions devoted to visuals will in many cases begin with a question or two devoted to the
visuals alone. Questions that ask about the visuals in the context of the passage normally follow these, and
you should use the visuals-only questions to make sure that your comprehension of units and relationships is
sound. In this respect, re-visit a question from the Diagnostic Test, and keep the trends in mind.
19
According to the chart, which of the following groups
would represent the largest number of individuals?
A) 0-20 Incoming Ties
B) 0-20 Outgoing Ties
C) 21-30 Incoming Ties
D) 21-30 Outgoing Ties
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172
Remember: more individuals are in the groups
that have more incoming ties and in the group
that has 21-30 outgoing ties
Part 6: Working with Visuals
It may not be possible to predict an answer entirely, but you CAN use an efficient three-part process to work
with the question.
1. Remember Overall Relationships 2. Check Answers Against Graph
3. Process of Elimination
In this case, the overall relationship indicated in Step 1 (largest numbers of individuals) should put you on the
right track, but should NOT replace the second step. Check the answers as required by Step 2: A and B both
combine groups, but represent fewer than 20 individuals each. C and D both represent quantities over 30, so
eliminate A and B as required by Step 3. However, D (dark bar, outgoing ties) indicates more individuals than
C does, so eliminate C and choose D.
Now, consider how this sort of attention to detail can help you to work with questions that call upon you to
consider a passage alongside a visual.
Type 2: Visuals with the Passage
Before reaching the final few Visuals questions, you might want to formulate a general yet evidence-based
idea of how the passage and the accompanying visuals relate to one another. Here are the core relationships.
- Visuals support the passage - Visuals contradict the passage - Visuals add new information on the topic
A visual that occurs with a Paired Passage set may relate to each passage in the set in a different manner, so
be sensitive to this fact. Keep in mind, also, that a long reading comprehension passage will naturally address
more evidence than a visual does and that you should NOT relate passage-specific evidence to a visual unless
prompted to do so by the question. In fact, beyond determining a core passage-to-visual relationship, you
should be careful to distinguish between the information considered in the passage and in the visual—a task
that is central to the following Diagnostic Test question.
20
One of the factors that is explicitly addressed in
Ready’s study as described the passage but NOT in
the accompanying graph is
Objective: find a difference between the
passage and the graph
A) a given household’s incoming ties.
Remember: the graph considers the number
of food-sharing ties (incoming and outgoing)
within a community
B) a given household’s outgoing ties.
C) the role of gender in food-sharing networks.
D) the role of local political influence in food sharing
networks.
For questions such as these, work with three-step process described above, AND bring in work with the Major
Issue and Passage Details strategies as needed. Step 1 of the Visuals strategy should lead you to conclude that
A and B are both wrong, since both incoming and outgoing ties are central to the graph. You are left with C and
D; neither “gender” nor “political influence” is described in the graph, so figure out which one IS described
in the passage. C is the correct answer, since line 55 of the passage (page 11) mentions the role of “single
women” in food-sharing. The passage does indicate that some households are relatively large and wealthy, but
(again, using Passage Details tactics) NEVER explicitly mentions political factors.
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173
Part 6
Questions 1-4 are based on the following
Social Studies passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from “Game
Corrects Children’s Misreading of Emotional
Faces to Tame Irritability,” a 2016 Science
Update article posted* by the National
Institute of Mental Health.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
A computer game that changes a tendency to
misread ambiguous faces as angry is showing
promise as a potential treatment for irritability in
children. The game shifts a child’s judgment for
perceiving ambiguous faces from angry to happy.
In a small pilot study, irritable children who
played it experienced less irritability, accompanied
by changes in activation of mood-related brain
circuitry. Researchers are now following up with a
larger study to confirm its effectiveness.
Melissa Brotman, Ph.D., Ellen Leibenluft,
M.D., Joel Stoddard, M.D., of the NIMH Emotion
and Development Branch, and colleagues,
reported on findings of their pilot study of
“interpretation bias training” for child irritability
online on January 8, 2016 in the Journal of Child
and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.
About 3 percent of youth experience chronic
severe irritability. They are prone to temper
outbursts and are often in a grumpy mood. Parents
complain of having to “walk on eggshells”
to avoid unleashing verbal—and sometimes
physical—outbursts. These behaviors can lead to
problems with friends, with family, and at school.
While irritability is common in disorders
such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder, it is
a core feature of disruptive mood dysregulation
disorder (DMDD), which is associated with risk
for developing mood and anxiety disorders—and
socioeconomic underachievement later in life.
While research suggests that parent training,
psychotherapy, and some medications may
be helpful for severe irritability, there are no
established treatments for DMDD. Evidence
suggests that irritable youth with DMDD tend to
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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174
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
misperceive emotional expressions. Compared
to healthy controls, children with DMDD were
more prone to rate ambiguous faces as angry. So
Leibenluft’s team set out to test interpretation
bias training (IBT), a computer game designed
to diminish irritable children’s tendency to view
ambiguous faces as angry.
Participants rated a continuum of 15
ambiguous faces appearing on a computer monitor
as either happy or angry. After computer training,
the children shifted their ratings toward seeing
some of these ambiguous faces as “happy.” This
effect was maintained for at least 2 weeks and was
associated with decreased irritability, as rated by
parents and by clinicians who interviewed both
parents and children.
Some of these DMDD participants also
performed a face-viewing task while their brain
activity was being measured by functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They
showed activity changes in emotional learning
areas suggesting that the computer-based training
may alter neural responses to emotional faces.
Encouraged by these findings, the researchers
have launched a larger, more controlled study
to learn whether IBT might be effective as
a treatment. They are also testing cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), a talk therapy that aims
to change behaviors in response to frustrating
events. These are among the first non-drug
interventions that seek to help those with DMDD.
Families with affected children can choose to
receive CBT alone, IBT alone, or IBT followed
by CBT. Those who elect IBT will perform most
computer training sessions at home, over the
course of a training program which can last from
3 to 13 weeks. Participants who are interested
in brain scanning will also undergo before-andafter fMRI scans while they are looking at the
same ambiguous faces presented in the training
sessions. The researchers hope these scans will
show changes in brain activity that relate to
symptom improvement following treatment.
“The training may be calming irritability by
altering circuit activity underlying interpretive
biases and—hopefully—reducing anger-based
reactions like outbursts,” said Leibenluft.
CONTINUE
Part 6
Number of Participants
Number of Participants
Results for 22 young people (starting on
June 15, 2016) with ADHD who were
subjected to an IBT recognition process for
ambiguous faces
2
The graphs could be understood as representing
an unsuccessful IBT administration if “success” is
defined as
Face 1, June 15
15
10
5
0
15
10
5
0
A) an increased number of participants identifying
the faces as happy within fifteen days.
B) a decreased number of participants identifying the
faces as neutral within fifteen days.
Happy
Angry
Neutral
Interpretation of Face
C) a majority of participants identifying the faces as
happy within fifteen days.
Face 1, June 30
D) a majority of the participants identifying the faces
as happy or neutral within forty-five days
3
Happy
Angry
Neutral
One factor explicitly considered in the graphs but
NOT in the passage is
Number of Participants
Interpretation of Face
A) a facial identification pattern for children on
ADHD medication.
Face 1, July 30
15
10
5
0
B) a “neutral” classification for ambiguous faces.
C) the IBT success rate after roughly two weeks.
Happy
Angry
D) IBT administration that lasts beyond four weeks.
Neutral
Interpretation of Face
4
1
Do the data present in the graphs support or contradict
the ideas present in the passage?
As shown in the graphs, which of the following
interpretation-based groups represents the largest
number of participants?
A) Support, because effective IBT results for
children with ADHD are relevant to the treatment
of DMDD.
A) “Neutral,” June 15
B) Support, because the graphs correlate fewer
“angry” identifications with decreased irritability.
B) “Happy,” June 30
C) “Angry,” July 30
C) Contradict, because the face considered in
the graphs is not one of the 15 ambiguous faces
mentioned in the passage.
D) “Neutral,” July 30
D) Contradict, because the graphs omit any
consideration of fMRI data.
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175
CONTINUE
Part 6
Questions 5-8 are based on the following
Science passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from “NIH
researchers discover highly infectious vehicle
for transmission of viruses among humans,”
a 2018 news release* from the National
Institutes of Health.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
Researchers have found that a group of viruses
that cause severe stomach illness—including
the one famous for widespread outbreaks
on cruise ships—get transmitted to humans
through membrane-cloaked “virus clusters” that
exacerbate the spread and severity of disease.
Previously, it was believed that these viruses
only spread through individual virus particles.
The discovery of these clusters, the scientists
say, marks a turning point in the understanding
of how these viruses spread and why they are
so infectious. This preliminary work could lead
to the development of more effective antiviral
agents than existing treatments that mainly target
individual particles.
The researchers studied norovirus and
rotavirus—hard-to-treat viruses that are the
most common causes of stomach illness, or
gastroenteritis, and that afflict millions of
people each year. The viruses cause symptoms
ranging from diarrhea to abdominal pain and can
sometimes result in death, particularly among
young children and the elderly. Their highly
contagious nature has led to serious outbreaks in
crowded spaces throughout many communities,
most notably in cruise ships, daycare centers,
classrooms, and nursing homes. Fortunately,
vaccines against rotavirus are now available and
are routinely given to babies in the United States.
“This is a really exciting finding in the field
of virology because it reveals a mode of virus
spread that has not been observed among humans
and animals,” said study leader Nihal AltanBonnet, Ph.D., senior investigator and head of
the Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Dynamics at
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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176
(NHLBI). “We hope that it will provide new clues
to fighting a wide range of diseases involving
many types of viruses, including those that cause
gastrointestinal illnesses, heart inflammation,
certain respiratory illnesses, and even the common
cold.”
The study was supported in part by the
Intramural Research programs of the NHLBI and
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID), both part of the National
Institutes of Health. It is featured as the cover
story of Cell Host & Microbe and appears online
on August 8.
Until a few years ago, most scientists believed
that viruses, particularly those responsible
for stomach illnesses, could only behave as
independent infectious agents. However, in 2015
Altan-Bonnet and her colleagues showed that
polioviruses could transmit themselves in packets,
or membrane-bound vesicles containing multiple
virus particles. The scientists compared this new
model of viral transmission to a Trojan horse: a
group of membrane-bound viruses arrives at a
host cell and deposits viruses in the cell while
dodging detection by the immune system. The
scientists did not know whether this system
applied to animals and humans, or how effective
these packets were in infecting host cells.
To find out, they focused on rotaviruses
and noroviruses, which mainly get spread
through accidental ingestion of tiny particles
of an infected person’s stool—through, for
example, contaminated food or liquids. The
researchers obtained fecal samples of humans
and animals (pigs and mice) and found that the
viruses are shed in the stool as virus clusters
inside membrane-bound packets. In addition,
they found that these virus-containing vesicles
were significantly more infectious than the free,
unbound viruses within the samples.
The researchers determined that the high level
of infectiousness was likely due to the vesicles
delivering many viruses at once to the target
tissues; protecting their viral cargo from being
destroyed by prolonged exposure to enzymes; and
possibly by making their viral cargo invisible to
CONTINUE
Part 6
85
90
95
the antibodies that are in the stool or gut of the
host. More studies are needed, but the extreme
potency of the virus packets, they said, has a
clear consequence: it not only enhances the
virus’ ability to spread more aggressively; it also
increases the severity of the disease it causes.
Handwashing with soap and water helps prevent
the spread of viruses.
“Our findings indicate that vesicle-cloaked
viruses are highly virulent units of fecal-oral
transmission, and highlight a need for antivirals
targeting vesicles and virus clustering,” AltanBonnet noted.
Virus Type
Contexts for
Occurrence
Rotavirus A
oral transmission
through ingestion
of infected matter
Rotavirus D
oral transmission
through ingestion
of infected matter
Rotavirus E
oral transmission
through ingestion
of infected matter
Standard Norovirus/ oral transmission
Norwalk Virus
through ingestion
of infected matter
Respiratory
ingestion of
Cyncytial Virus
infected matter,
airborne infection
Standard
ingestion of
Parainfluenza Virus infected matter,
airborne infection
Respiratory
ingestion of
Adenovirus
infected matter,
airborne infection
5
If the mortality rates present in the table are
completely accurate, which of the following groups
would suffer the largest number of casualties?
A) 100 infants infected with Rotavirus E
B) 1000 infants infected with Respiratory
Adenovirus
C) 100 senior citizens infected with Standard
Norovirus
D) 100 senior citizens infected with Standard
Parainfluenza virus
Mortality
Rate
(ages 0-5)
1%
Mortality
Ease of
Rate
Transmission
(ages 65-85) (0-10 scale)
3%
4
Resistance
to Vaccines
(0-10 scale)
7
1%
2%
4
8
2%
2%
5
8
1%
3%
4
4
0.1%
0.4%
9
3
0.2%
0.5%
10
2
0.1%
0.5%
9
2
Note: in each 1-10 scale, 10 indicates the highest potency
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177
CONTINUE
Part 6
Questions 9-12 are based on the following
Social Studies passage and supplementary
material.
6
The table indicates that Standard Norovirus does
NOT resemble any of the three strains of Rotavirus in
terms of
This passage is adapted from Samantha
Wallace, “Linking Isolated Languages:
Linguistic Relationships of the Carabayo.”
Originally published* on EveryONE, the blog
of the research site Plos One.
A) mortality rate, ages 0-5.
B) mortality rate, ages 65-85.
C) ease of transmission.
D) resistance to vaccines.
7
Line
5
The data present in the table build upon the ideas and
information present in the passage by providing
A) proof that new information about virus clusters
marks “a turning point” (line 10).
10
B) indications that norovirus and rotavirus afflict
“millions of people each year” (lines 19-20).
C) statistical evidence for how often norovirus and
rotavirus strains “can sometimes result in death”
(lines 21-22).
15
D) hints about how to combat viruses that are
responsible for “certain respiratory illnesses”
(line 41).
20
8
The final three viruses represented in the table do not
travel in clusters. In relation to the passage, this new
information and the data in the table indicate that
25
A) clustered viruses typically survive for longer than
non-clustered viruses.
30
B) virus clustering is not the only arrangement that
facilitates transmission.
C) non-clustered viruses are a greater threat to senior
citizens than are clustered viruses.
D) a non-clustered form can increase the vaccine
resistance of a virus that is normally clustered.
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
In 2010, English clocked in at over 360 million
native speakers, and it is the third-most-commonly
used native language, right behind Mandarin
Chinese and Spanish. While these languages
spread, however, other indigenous languages
decline at an accelerated pace. A fraction of
these enigmatic languages belong to uncontacted
indigenous groups of the Amazonian rainforest,
groups of people in South America who have
little to no interaction with societies beyond their
own. Many of these groups choose to remain
uncontacted by the rest of the world. Because of
their isolation, not much is known about these
languages beyond their existence.
The researchers of a recent PLOS ONE
paper investigated one such language, that of
the Carabayo people who live in the Colombian
Amazon rainforest. Working with the relatively
scarce historical data that exists for the Carabayo
language—only 50 words have been recorded
over time—the authors identified similarities
between Carabayo and Yurí and Tikuna, two
known languages of South America that constitute
the current language family Ticuna-Yurí. Based
on the correspondences, the authors posit a
possible genealogical connection between these
languages.
Few resources were available to the authors in
this endeavor. They analyzed historical wordlists
collected during the last encounter with the
Carabayo people in 1969—the only linguistic data
available from this group—against wordlists for
the Yurí language. In addition, they sought the
expertise of a native speaker of Tikuna, a linguist
*See Page 262 for the citation for this text.
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CONTINUE
Part 6
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
trained in Tikuna’s many dialects. Using these
resources, the authors broke down the Carabayo
words into their foundational forms, starting with
consonants and vowels. They then compared
them to similarly deconstructed words in Yurí and
Tikuna.
The examination involved the evaluation of
similarities in the basic building blocks of these
words: the number of times a specific sound (or
phoneme) appeared; the composition and patterns
of the smallest grammatical units of a word (a
morpheme); and the meanings attached to these
words. When patterns appeared between Carabayo
and either Yurí or Tikuna, the authors considered
whether or not the languages’ similarities
constituted stronger correspondences. They also
paid attention to the ways in which these words
would have been used by the Carabayo when the
lists were originally made many years ago.
The Yurí language was first recorded in the
19th century, but it is thought to have become
extinct since then. From these lists, five words
stood out: in Carabayo, ao ‘father’, hono ‘boy’,
hako ‘well!’, and a complex form containing
both the Yurí word from warm, noré, and the Yurí
word, t∫au, which corresponds in English to ‘I’
or ‘my’. Given the evidence, the authors contend
that the strongest link between Carabayo and Yurí
is found in the correspondence of t∫au. The study
of other languages has indicated that first-person
pronouns are particularly resistant to “borrowing,”
or the absorption of one language’s vocabulary
into another. Therefore, the authors surmise
it is unlikely in this instance that either of the
languages absorbed t∫au from the other, but that
they share a genealogical link.
Similarly, the comparison of Carabayo
words to words of the living language of Tikuna
provided a high number of matches, including in
Carabayo gudda ‘wait’ and gu ‘yes’. The matches
especially exhibit sound correspondences of
Carabayo g (or k) and the loss of the letter n in
certain circumstances.
Although it is possible that the Carabayo
language represents a language that had not yet
been documented until the time of 1969, the
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85
90
results of the researchers’ evaluation have led
them to conclude that Carabayo more likely
belongs to the language family of Ticuna-Yurí.
The relationship of Carabayo to Yurí and
Tikuna changes the structure of the Ticuna-Yurí
family by placing Carabayo on the map as a
member of that family. The Tikuna language, once
considered to be the sole surviving member of
the Ticuna-Yurí family, might now have a sibling,
and the identity of a barely known language has
become that much more defined.
9
Which of the following statements about words
shared by Amazonian languages can be inferred from
Figure 1?
A) Languages that use similar words to describe men
may use dissimilar words to describe women.
B) Several words that describe men are identical in
Tikuna, Yurí, and Carabayo.
C) The similarities between Tikuna and Carabayo
are most evident in words of one or two syllables.
D) Carabayo and Yurí share several pronouns but
only a few expressions of affirmation.
Figure 1: Similar Words for Three Languages
179
Tikuna
“wife”
“yes”
“father”
Yurí
“my”
Carabayo
CONTINUE
Part 6
Figure 2: Number of Native Speakers for Three Languages
Native Speakers Living in South America
1300
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
1930
1950
1970
1990
10
2010
Carabayo
According to Figure 2, since 1970 the number of
native speakers of Tikuna has
Yurí
Tikuna
A) decreased as a result of the growing popularity of
Yurí.
12
B) been consistently greater than the number of
native speakers of Yurí.
A student notices that Figure 2 does not present
information from before 1970 in its data on the
Carabayo language. The passage indicates that this
absence of information may be due to the fact that
C) never been greater than the number of native
speakers of Carabayo.
D) exceeded the number of speakers of Carabayo by
a constant margin.
A) most speakers of Carabayo were necessarily
bilingual.
B) Carabayo and Yurí were once assumed to be
identical.
11
C) researchers did not make contact with the
Carabayo people before 1969.
Both the passage and Figure 1 support the idea that
A) Carabayo and Yurí have similar words for “son.”
D) the Carabayo wordlists from before 1969 were
proven to be inaccurate.
B) Carabayo and Yurí have similar words for “my.”
C) Carabayo and Tikuna have similar words for
“father.”
D) Carabayo and Tikuna have large numbers of
similar pronouns.
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180
CONTINUE
Part 6
Questions 13-16 are based on the
following Science passages and
supplementary material.
35
Passage 1 is adapted from “New 3D
Measurements Improve Understanding of
Geomagnetic Storm Hazards,” while
Passage 2 is adapted from “Preparing the
Nation for Intense Space Weather.” Both
passages are news releases* from the U.S.
Geological Survey.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
40
45
Passage 1
Space weather events such as geomagnetic
storms can disturb the earth’s magnetic
field, interfering with electric power grids,
radio communication, GPS systems, satellite
operations, oil and gas drilling, and air travel.
Scientists use models of the earth’s structure and
measurements of Earth’s magnetic field taken at
USGS observatories to determine which sections
of the electrical grid might lose power during a
geomagnetic storm.
In a new U.S. Geological Survey study,
scientists calculated voltages along power lines in
the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. using 3D data
of the earth. These data, taken at Earth’s surface,
reflect the complex structure of the earth below
the measurement sites and were collected during
the National Science Foundation EarthScope
USArray project. The scientists found that for
many locations, the voltages they calculated
were significantly different from those based
on previous 1D calculations, with the 3D data
producing the most precise results.
“Using the most accurate data available to
determine vulnerable areas of the power grid
can help maintain life-saving communications
and protect national security during severe
geomagnetic storms,” said Greg Lucas, a USGS
scientist and the lead author of the study. “Our
study suggests that 3D data of the earth should be
used whenever they are available.”
Electric currents from a March 1989
geomagnetic storm caused a blackout in Québec
and numerous glitches in the U.S. power grid. In
50
55
60
65
70
75
*See Page 263 for the citations for these texts.
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181
past studies, scientists using simple 1D models of
the earth would have found that 16 high-voltage
electrical transmission lines were disturbed in the
mid-Atlantic region during the storm, resulting
in the blackout. However, by using realistic 3D
data to calculate the 1989 scenario, the new study
found that there might have actually been 62
vulnerable lines.
“This discrepancy between 1D- and 3D-based
calculations of the 1989 storm demonstrates the
importance of realistic data, rather than relying on
previous 1D models, to determine the impact that
a geomagnetic storm has on power grids,” Lucas
said.
Passage 2
The entire Canadian province of Québec,
which covers twice as much area as the State of
Texas, was plunged into darkness on the morning
of March 13, 1989. An intense geomagnetic storm
seized Québec’s power-grid system, tripping
relays, damaging high-voltage transformers, and
causing a blackout.
This geomagnetic storm’s impact on Québec
pales in comparison to what could happen in
the future. A report by the National Academy
of Sciences suggests that a rare but powerful
magnetic superstorm could cause continentwide loss of electricity and substantial damage
to power-grid infrastructure that could persist
for months and cost the Nation in excess of $1
trillion.
“Utility groups rely on historical data collected
by long-running USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)
magnetic observatories to see what a worst-case
scenario could look like,” said Mark Olson, a
standards developer with the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
“These data help NERC draft standards aimed
at maintaining reliable operations of the North
American power grid.”
When a large sunspot emerges, the likelihood
of an abrupt emission of radiation and an intense
solar wind becomes greater. When these winds
reach the Earth, electrically charged particles
enter the Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and
interior, inducing a geomagnetic storm.
CONTINUE
Part 6
Millions of Dollars
Cost of Damage Caused by Four Geomagnetic Storms
15
12.5
From Model
Actual
10
7.5
5
1989, Québec
1991, St. Louis
13
2013, Topeka
2014, Omaha
15
The chart as a whole indicates that
What information would be most helpful in an
assessment of the data in the chart alongside Greg
Lucas’s claims in Passage 1?
A) the damage dealt by geomagnetic storms has
increased steadily over a 15-year period.
A) Whether Lucas was present for the Québec storm
B) more precise modeling can minimize the financial
liabilities posed by a geomagnetic storm.
B) When 1D superstorm models began to be
replaced by 3D models
C) 3D modeling enables more accurate damage
estimates than are possible with 1D modeling.
C) How large the area affected by each superstorm
was
D) modeling may have a tendency to underestimate
the severity of geomagnetic storms.
D) Why Lucas began to study geomagnetic storms
14
16
Based on the chart, which of the following is true of
the geomagnetic storm that struck Topeka in 2013?
In relation to Passage 2, the chart primarily provides
A) a specific measure of the damage associated with
one “geomagnetic storm’s impact” (line 55).
A) It caused more dollars worth of damage than any
other storm measured.
B) “historical data” (line 64) that has helped
researchers to reach a consensus.
B) It was easy to study because of its large impact.
C) It was twice as deadly as the Québec storm.
C) a suggestion of the size of the “North American
power grid” (lines 71-72).
D) It remains the most powerful geomagnetic storm
on record.
D) statistics for the damage caused by the typical
“geomagnetic storm” (line 78).
STOP
After you have finished the questions, consult the relevant answers on Page 184.
Do not turn to any other section.
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182
Answer Key on the Next Page
Answer Key
Visual Evidence
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
D
C
B
A
C
D
C
B
A
B
B
C
D
A
B
A
For detailed answer explanations for this practice section
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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184
Part 7
Practice Tests
Full Reading Sections
Test 1
Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table
or graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following
passage.
20
This passage is adapted from Kenneth
Mulmerton, “Magic Lantern Snow,” a short
story that first appeared in 2008.
Line
5
10
15
25
If you visit the town where I grew up, one
of the first things you will notice—notice, that
is, after you turn off the highway, locate the
main street, and drive past a pet hospital, a fire
station, a small lending library with a fearsome
gabled roof, and a self-important wooden sign
that says “Bramble Creek Welcomes You”—is a
barbershop. This barbershop looks rather like an
oversized shed. And where it is situated, you can
even find a few of the rocks and trees and hills
that the people of Bramble Creek have spent so
much of their town’s lifetime trying to landscape
out of existence. Normally, a somewhat rusticated
location would hurt a business like this, mostly
by keeping it from being readily visible. But you
will notice this barbershop. Certainly. You see, out
in front, there is a huge sign with gold letters on
a dark red background. “Vic’s Haircuts for Men”
reads the great gilded script, with the especially
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186
30
35
40
45
tremendous characters of “Vic’s” given a line
all to themselves. Now, what is rather curious
about this is that nobody affiliated with Vic’s
(established 1963) was ever named Vic. To date,
nobody has discovered who Vic is, or was, or
whether he even exists. Not even the Bramble
Creek boys of nine and ten who were Vic’s
(the institution’s, not the man’s) most reliable
customers were able to figure it out.
Looking back, I am a little puzzled by this.
For a boy of nine or ten, anything that carries
the slightest air of the mysterious—from the
construction site across the street to the old
mayoral campaign buttons in the basement—any
such trifle may well become the first ingredient
in a line of schemes and speculations that spans
days, weeks, or (in the case of especially dogged
imaginations) months. Yet the air in Vic’s is the
air of routine—a gruesome haze concocted from
lingering cigar smoke and musty packing papers.
An air in which mystery and imagination cough,
splutter, and die.
Today, Vic’s is just like it was when I was
younger. It still has the same barber—the
barber with the 19th-century sideburns, a big
stout fellow who lazily snips a piece here, a piece
CONTINUE
Test 1
50
55
60
65
70
there off the head of the sensitive lad in the seat
by the window—a lad who spends his whole
visit blinking and wriggling and squinting and
fidgeting and looking very much like a royal
infant enthroned upon some ancient medical
apparatus. Nevertheless, all those pieces snipped
here and there over the space of twenty minutes
always add up to the same “little boy’s cut.” From
time to time the little boy’s father will glance
over his newspaper and nod his approval as the
familiar contours of the “little boy’s cut” gradually
emerge. But what is this “little boy’s cut,” as that
barber condescendingly calls it when he thinks
that none of the little boys can hear him? Well, let
me just say that all you need to create something
comparable to the “little boy’s cut” are clear eyes,
a steady hand, an unflinching determination to
humiliate the “little boy” in question, a pair of
garden clippers, and about a minute and a half.
Alas, you will see almost every boy in Bramble
Creek adorned with this “little boy’s cut,” since
just about every boy in Bramble Creek goes to
Vic’s (as I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned, though
I might as well return to the point for emphasis).
And yes, I too have worn my share of “little
boy’s cuts.” Surely there are more humiliating
hairstyles. Though not many.
2
Over the course of the passage, the narration shifts in
focus from
A) a group of pleasant reflections to a scene that the
narrator finds offensive.
B) a broad account of a community to an
investigation of that community’s ideology.
C) a description of a setting to a typical incident
within that setting.
D) a variety of unresolved questions to an analysis
that promotes nonconformity.
3
As used in line 9, “situated” most nearly means
A) referenced.
B) committed.
C) contextualized.
D) positioned.
4
1
The narrator of the passage primarily describes
According to the narrator, Vic’s barbershop can be
located easily on account of its
A) a series of needless changes that led to the decline
of a community.
A) connection with rustic life.
B) proximity to important town institutions.
B) a set of ongoing conditions that were present in
his own youth.
C) accessibility from a highway.
D) large and obtrusive sign.
C) an event that marked his entry into a new period
of maturity.
D) instances of misunderstanding that involve
different generations
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187
CONTINUE
Test 1
5
8
How does the parenthetical phrase in line 27 differ
from the parenthetical phrase in lines 68-69?
As used in line 53, “add up to” most nearly means
A) The first offers a distinction; the second calls
attention to the narrator himself.
B) result in.
A) congregate for.
C) make an estimate of.
B) The first reiterates an important point; the second
offers a new perspective.
D) compete with.
C) The first refers to a point of uncertainty; the
second helps to resolve that same uncertainty.
9
D) The first is informed by a tone of sarcasm; the
second conveys the narrator’s desire for
sympathy.
Which of the following is most similar to the situation
described in lines 53-57 (“From . . . emerge”)?
A) A coach offers reassurance to a team that has lost
confidence in its own abilities.
6
B) A traveler arrives at an important landmark and is
reminded of a series of events from his childhood.
The narrator primarily characterizes the interior of
Vic’s barbershop as
C) A concert-goer experiences moments of
satisfaction while listening to a symphony that he
knows well.
A) predictable and oppressive.
B) disorderly and absurd.
D) A writer uses an ironic and detached tone to
describe an experience that had once been a
source of strong emotion.
C) evocative of nostalgia.
D) a source of mystery.
7
10
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
Which choice provides the best evidence that
the narrator regards the “little boy’s cut” with
disapproval?
A) Lines 13-15 (“Normally . . . visible”)
A) Lines 43-47 (“They . . . window”)
B) Lines 23-25 (“To date . . . exists”)
B) Lines 57-59 (“But . . . him”)
C) Lines 37-39 (“Yet the . . . papers”)
C) Lines 59-64 (“Well . . . half”)
D) Lines 42-43 (“Today . . . younger”)
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D) Lines 70-71 (“And . . . cuts”)
188
CONTINUE
Test 1
Questions 11-20 are based on the
following passage.
40
This passage is adapted from “Of the Origin
of Government” by David Hume, an essay
first published in 1777.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
All men are sensible of the necessity of justice
to maintain peace and order; and all men are
sensible of the necessity of peace and order for the
maintenance of society. Yet, notwithstanding this
strong and obvious necessity, such is the frailty
or perverseness of our nature! It is impossible to
keep men faithfully and unerringly in the paths of
justice. Some extraordinary circumstances may
happen, in which a man finds his interests to be
more promoted by fraud or rapine, than hurt by
the breach which his injustice makes in the social
union. But much more frequently he is seduced
from his great and important, but distant interests,
by the allurement of present, though often very
frivolous temptations. This great weakness is
incurable in human nature.
Men must, therefore, endeavour to palliate
what they cannot cure. They must institute some
person under the appellation of the magistrate,
whose peculiar office it is to point out the decrees
of equity, to punish transgressors, to correct
fraud and violence, and to oblige men, however
reluctant, to consult their own real and permanent
interests. In a word, obedience is a new duty
which must be invented to support that of justice,
and the ties of equity must be corroborated by
those of allegiance.
But still, viewing matters in an abstract light,
it may be thought that nothing is gained by this
alliance, and that the factitious duty of obedience,
from its very nature, lays as feeble a hold of the
human mind, as the primitive and natural duty of
justice. Peculiar interests and present temptations
may overcome the one as well as the other. They
are equally exposed to the same inconvenience;
and the man who is inclined to be a bad
neighbour, must be led by the same motives, well
or ill understood, to be a bad citizen or subject.
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189
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
Not to mention, that the magistrate himself may
often be negligent, or partial, or unjust in his
administration.
Experience, however, proves that there is
a great difference between the cases. Order
in society, we find, is much better maintained
by means of government; and our duty to the
magistrate is more strictly guarded by the
principles of human nature, than our duty to
our fellow-citizens. The love of dominion, is so
strong in the breast of man, that many not only
submit to, but court all the dangers, and fatigues,
and cares of government; and men, once raised
to that station, though often led astray by private
passions, find, in ordinary cases, a visible interest
in the impartial administration of justice. The
persons who first attain this distinction, by the
consent, tacit or express, of the people, must
be endowed with superior personal qualities
of valour, force, integrity, or prudence, which
command respect and confidence; and, after
government is established, a regard to birth, rank,
and station, has a mighty influence over men, and
enforces the decrees of the magistrate. The prince
or leader exclaims against every disorder which
disturbs his society. He summons all his partisans
and all men of probity to aid him in correcting
and redressing it, and he is readily followed by all
indifferent persons in the execution of his
office. . .
But though this progress of human affairs
may appear certain and inevitable, and though
the support which allegiance brings to justice be
founded on obvious principles of human nature, it
cannot be expected that men should beforehand be
able to discover them, or foresee their operation.
Government commences more casually and more
imperfectly. It is probable, that the first ascendent
of one man over multitudes began during a state
of war; where the superiority of courage and
of genius discovers itself most visibly, where
unanimity and concert are most requisite, and
where the pernicious effects of disorder are most
sensibly felt. The long continuance of that state,
an incident common among savage tribes, inured
the people to submission; and if the chieftain
CONTINUE
Test 1
85
possessed as much equity as prudence and valour,
he became, even during peace, the arbiter of all
differences, and could gradually, by a mixture of
force and consent, establish his authority.
14
Which choice best supports Hume’s idea that all
people are guided by some of the same fundamental
ideals?
A) Lines 1-4 (“All men . . . society”)
11
B) Lines 12-15 (“But much . . . temptations”)
The main purpose of the passage is to
C) Lines 28-33 (“But still . . . justice”)
A) articulate a series of distinctions between
desirable and oppressive governments.
D) Lines 33-34 (“Peculiar . . . other”)
B) revisit and modernize traditional ideas about the
origins of government.
15
C) draw meaningful connections between human
psychology and the structure of government.
Hume’s statement in lines 17-18 (“Men . . . cure”) is
best understood as
D) promote a spirit of civic participation by
emphasizing the necessity of government.
A) a recommendation for how to address an
inherently problematic situation.
B) an acknowledgment of a few of the logical
shortcomings of his proposals.
12
One of the central ideas of the passage is that
C) a paraphrase of one of the arguments of Hume’s
ideological opponents.
A) government institutions should be consistently
scrutinized and reformed.
D) a reference to a hypothetical situation that Hume
declines to examine.
B) the centralization of authority can prevent social
disorder.
16
C) punishing lawbreakers is a government’s most
significant function.
As characterized in the passage, the “man” mentioned
in line 36 would be notable for his
D) successful governments tend to create permanent
aristocracies.
A) status as an outcast within his own community.
B) belief that all forms of government are equally
oppressive.
13
C) acts of violent and irresponsible protest.
As used in line 10, “promoted” most nearly means
D) blatant disrespect for his government and its laws.
A) honored.
B) publicized.
C) served.
D) defined.
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190
CONTINUE
Test 1
17
19
As used in line 54, “impartial” most nearly means
Hume argues that the “magistrate” first introduced in
line 19 is
A) equitable.
A) valuable as a theoretical construct but not
representative of any real individual.
B) accepting.
C) dismissive.
B) directly analogous to the leader of a unified tribal
community.
D) basic.
C) obeyed by a society’s less powerful citizens more
as the result of fear than of loyalty.
18
D) aided in enforcing social order by humanity’s
respect for status and hierarchy.
According to Hume, the “state of war” (lines 77-78)
is significant because
A) its similarity to perceived states of peace and
prosperity has generally been underestimated.
20
B) it provided conditions under which individual
leaders could demonstrate a suitability for
governance.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
C) its prevalence forced societies that had formed
democratic and de-centralized governments to
adopt new institutions.
B) Lines 45-48 (“and our . . . fellow-citizens”)
A) Lines 39-41 (“Not . . . administration”)
C) Lines 59-62 (“After . . . magistrate”)
D) it persists among societies that are relatively
small and that have remained in isolation.
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
D) Lines 82-84 (“The long . . . submission”)
191
CONTINUE
Test 1
Questions 21-31 are based on the
following passages.
35
Passage 1 is adapted from the PLOS
EveryOne Online article* “Sharing Was
Caring for Ancient Humans and Their
Prehistoric Pups” (2013) by Michelle Dohm.
Passage 2 is adapted from the PLOS One
journal article* “Ancient DNA Analysis of
the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian
Arctic and Genetic Contribution to the
Domestic Dog” (2015) by Esther J. Lee et al.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
40
45
Passage 1
While the tale of how man’s best friend came
to be (i.e., domestication) is still slowly unfolding,
a recently published study in PLOS ONE may
provide a little context—or justification?—for
dog lovers everywhere. It turns out that even
thousands of years ago, humans loved to share
food with, play with, and dress up their furry
friends.
In the study titled “Burying Dogs in Ancient
Cis-Baikal, Siberia: Temporal Trends and
Relationships with Human Diet and Subsistence
Practices,” biologists, anthropologists, and
archaeologists joined forces to investigate the
nature of the ancient human-dog relationship by
analyzing previously excavated canid remains
worldwide, with a large portion of specimens
in modern-day Eastern Siberia, Russia. The
authors performed genetic analysis and skull
comparisons to establish that the canid specimens
were most likely dogs, not wolves, which was
an unsurprising but important distinction when
investigating the human-canine bond. The canid
skulls from the Cis-Baikal region most closely
resembled those of large Siberian huskies, or sled
dogs. Radiocarbon dating from previous studies
also provided information regarding the dates
of death and other contextual information at the
burial sites.
The researchers found that the dogs buried in
Siberia, many during the Early Neolithic period
7,000-8,000 years ago, were only found at burial
sites shared with foraging humans. Dogs were
*See Page 217 for the citations for these texts.
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50
55
60
65
70
75
found buried in resting positions, or immediately
next to humans at these sites, and their graves
often included various items or tools seemingly
meant for the dogs. One dog in particular was
adorned with a red deer tooth necklace around its
neck and deer remnants by its side, and another
was buried with what appears to be a pebble or
toy in its mouth.
By analyzing the carbon and nitrogen in human
and dog specimens in this region, the researchers
were able to determine similarities in human and
dog diets, both of which were rich in fish. This
finding may be somewhat surprising because
one might assume that dogs helped humans hunt
terrestrial game, and would consequently be less
likely found among humans that ate primarily fish.
The authors speculate that dogs were
considered spiritually similar to humans, and
were therefore buried at the same time in the
same graves. The nature of the burials and the
similarities in diet also point toward an intimate
and personal relationship, both emotional and
social, between humans and their dogs—one
that involved sharing food and giving dogs
the same burial rites as the humans they lived
among. Ancient dogs weren’t just work animals
or hunters, the authors suggest, but important
companion animals and friends as well.
Passage 2
It is widely accepted that the domestic dog
(Canis lupus familiaris) descended from the
gray wolf (Canis lupus), but the process of
domestication as well as geographical origin
and approximate date of first domestication is
still debated. Genetic studies of modern dog
and wolf populations have shown divergent
views, from a single origin in East/South
Asia or the Near East to multiple areas of
domestication and/or hybridization with regional
wolf breeds. Furthermore, the possibility of
admixture with other canid species has also
been previously suggested. On the other hand,
recent mitochondrial genome analysis of ancient
canids has suggested a European origin of
domestic dogs. Archaeological evidence is not
CONTINUE
Test 1
80
85
90
95
100
always straightforward for the morphological
identification of domestic dogs, especially as the
earliest dogs were essentially the same size as
wolves, but advanced morphometric analyses
have improved the efforts. . .
Archaeological and paleontological research
conducted in the Arctic Siberia within past couple
of decades has yielded a large amount of bone
material suitable for genetic studies, as such
material mostly comes from permafrost deposits
that are common in the area. Many ancient DNA
studies have focused on extinct Pleistocene or
wild species that occupied Siberia, but here we
focus on the oldest domesticated species Canis.
Different Canidae species, such as the arctic fox
and wolf, were among the Pleistocene arctic
fauna that continued into the present. Within the
region, studies have claimed the presence of dogs
in the Russian Plain and Kamchatka by 13,000
BC. A recent study has suggested the presence of
a domestic dog in southern Siberia dated to ca.
33,300 BC, which predates the oldest evidence
from western Europe and the Near East. However,
the Siberian canid remain was morphologically
most similar to dogs from Greenland and unlike
ancient and modern wolves and putative dogs
from central Russia.
The statements in lines 29-40 of Passage 1 would be
most clearly contradicted by the discovery that
A) the functions of some of the items found with
buried dogs have not been firmly identified.
B) dogs in Greenland were routinely buried with
toys and other trinkets.
C) the diets of Siberian dogs were not identical to
the diets of humans in Siberia.
D) some Siberian dogs were buried at locations far
from human burial sites.
23
As used in line 53, “intimate” most nearly means
A) vulnerable.
B) secret.
C) routine.
D) close.
24
21
The final sentence of Passage 1 mainly serves to
Which of the following choices best supports the
claim that the author sets forward in lines 5-8 (“It
turns . . . friends”)?
A) return to and re-affirm a claim presented earlier.
B) summarize and endorse a specific methodology.
C) clarify a point in a manner meant to win over
skeptical readers.
A) Lines 9-17 (“In the . . . Russia”)
B) Lines 17-20 (“The authors . . . wolves”)
D) re-state a finding that the authors of the study
found surprising.
C) Lines 25-28 (“Radiocarbon . . . sites”)
D) Lines 36-40 (“One . . . mouth”)
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
22
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CONTINUE
Test 1
25
29
The primary purpose of Passage 2 is to
The authors of Passage 2 would argue that the “burial
sites” (lines 31-32) mentioned in Passage 1
A) present the debate inspired by a specific study.
A) offer evidence that contradicts the public’s
understanding of the domestication of dogs.
B) discuss challenges and uncertainties that recent
research may help to address.
B) complicate the idea that early dogs resembled
modern wolves.
C) explain a new consensus in a field that has often
been confronted with uncertainty.
C) do not provide earliest prospective evidence of
the domestication of dogs.
D) underscore the flaws in an archaeological theory.
D) suggest an attitude towards dogs that probably
did not extend beyond Siberia.
26
As used in line 67, “divergent” most nearly means
30
A) aberrant.
B) unfamiliar.
C) various.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) indefinite.
A) Lines 71-73 (“Furthermore . . . suggested”)
B) Lines 76-78 (“Archaeological . . . dogs”)
C) Lines 87-90 (“Many . . . Canis”)
27
D) Lines 96-99 (“A recent . . . Near East”)
The authors of Passage 2 indicate that wolves
A) posed a threat to early hunting communities.
31
B) are somewhat similar to early domestic dogs.
In contrast to Passage 2, Passage 1 places a strong
focus on the investigation of
C) were typically larger than early domestic dogs.
D) were highly resistant to domestication attempts.
A) the work of “biologists, anthropologists, and
archaeologists” (lines 12-13).
B) the specific “nature of the ancient human-dog
relationship” (line 14).
28
In analyzing the domestication of dogs, both passages
consider information derived from
C) specific groups of “canid specimens” (line 19).
D) research involving animal remains found “in
Siberia” (lines 29-30).
A) genetic analysis.
B) digital modeling.
C) radiocarbon dating.
D) dietary investigation.
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CONTINUE
Test 1
Questions 32-42 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is an excerpt from “Can
Public Transit and Ride-Share Companies
Get Along?” by Kyle Shelton. Originally
published* in 2016 by The Conversation.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
In Centennial, Colorado and Altamonte
Springs, Florida, residents and visitors can now
get subsidized rides to the nearest train station. In
both cases the cities foot the bill, or at least part
of it, but it’s not a public bus that makes the trip.
Rather, it’s a car driven by someone working for
ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber.
There are potential public benefits—the hope
of increased ridership, better service for hard-toserve areas, and cost and equipment efficiencies.
Competition could push sometimes slow-moving
transit agencies to innovate and improve. There
are also risks. Ride-sharing companies have
devastated the private taxi market, effectively
undercutting the entire industry in some cities.
Mobility rights advocates and transit employees
fear that the same thing could happen to public
transit, remaking, under private ownership, the
way millions of Americans get around every day.
To maximize the benefits while minimizing the
risks, we need to know how ride-share companies
will affect public transportation. Might public
transit agencies come to regret entering into
agreements with private-sector competitors?
Can the new arrangements improve service for
customers, save agencies money, and make a
profit for the companies?
With numerous pilot projects similar to
Centennial and Altamonte Springs just getting
underway, there is little existing research into
the effects that cooperating with ride-sharing
companies will have on public transit operators.
But the role that ride-sharing companies are
now playing is not a new one. Private companies
have long found ways to fill transportation needs
for people who do not own cars or who live in
places where public transit does not reach—such
*See Page 217 for the citation for this text.
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55
60
65
70
75
80
as Baltimore’s hack cabs or New York City’s
“dollar vans.”
A ride-share company’s smartphone app may
be more formalized, but Uber and Lyft have
tapped into a similar market as these informal
transit systems. The companies serve users
unhappy with existing options—either because
public transit failed to serve them, other options
cost too much or they deemed transit vehicles
uncomfortable or unsafe.
A future in which ride-sharing companies
fully replace mass transit is unlikely. There are
too many advantages built into existing systems.
Buses and trains carry more people than cars
and vans. The benefits of fixed transit lines—
structured and stable development corridors
and dedicated rights-of-way—are simply not
replicable by ride-sharing companies. While Uber
and Lyft will likely continue to grow, they are
unlikely to draw riders off well-functioning transit
lines. But they can complement them.
A likely outcome of ride-share and authority
interaction is more of what is already taking shape
in Colorado, Florida, and many other locales—
small-scale, replicable cooperation. Centennial
and Altamonte Springs are attempting to address
what is known in the transportation sector as the
“first mile/last mile” problem. The idea is that
many potential transit riders don’t use the service
because it’s too far from either the beginning or
end of a given trip. Offering ride-sharing as a way
to connect from the doorway to the transit stop
may help overcome this issue.
Bridj, a newer player to the ride-sharing world
that styles itself as “pop-up” microtransit, is
running a pilot project in Kansas City that intends
to augment existing public transit service by
making connections in ways existing buses do
not. The company contracted with the Kansas City
Area Transportation Authority in March 2016 to
run on-demand shuttles between the downtown
area and a pocket of residential areas southwest of
the city during peak hours.
While both areas are served by regular KCATA
bus routes, they are not directly connected,
so private vehicles are much faster. Instead of
CONTINUE
Test 1
85
90
95
changing the existing bus routes or adding new
ones, KCATA is hoping Bridj service can more
cheaply cover the gap.
The biggest question about these new
relationships is how well they meet riders’ needs
over time. Disability rights advocates have already
warned that substituting ride-share services for
existing agency-run paratransit programs—ondemand rides for users with disabilities—may be
a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Public agencies and most private transportation
companies are bound to provide these services to
all users, but it’s not yet clear whether newer ridesharing companies must also—or how contracting
with a government agency might require it.
32
The author characterizes the “subsidized rides”
project mentioned in the first paragraph as
A) comparable to other recent endeavors designed to
improve transit practices.
B) an unfortunate yet inevitable concession to
ride-sharing companies.
C) popular among commuters despite researchers’
uncertainty about the virtues of ride-sharing.
D) the natural outcome of questionable strategic
decisions by taxi companies.
Four Transportation Methods in the Boston Metro Area
400
Annual Rides (Million)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Buses:Taxi Cabs:Uber:Lyft:
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CONTINUE
Test 1
33
36
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
As used in line 35, “fill” most nearly means
A) Lines 6-7 (“Rather . . . Uber”)
B) overcome.
A) replace.
B) Lines 13-15 (“Ride-sharing . . . cities”)
C) accompany.
C) Lines 22-24 (“Might . . . competitors?”)
D) satisfy.
D) Lines 28-32 (“With . . . operators”)
37
34
On the basis of the passage, ride-sharing companies
would be more likely to entirely replace public
transportation if these companies were to
As used in line 11, “push” most nearly means
A) publicize.
A) build transit stations that could gradually replace
similar city-operated locations.
B) sideline.
C) build up.
B) implement more rigorous safety measures.
D) motivate.
C) independently operate mass transit lines of their
own.
D) enlarge their fleets of privately-operated vehicles.
35
Which of the following situations illustrates both
“benefits” and “risks” as described in the second
paragraph (lines 8-19)?
38
A) A ride-sharing service offers discounted rides that
lead to falling earnings and mass layoffs for a
local cab company.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) A company that initially operated a ride-sharing
app expands its operations into the management
of train lines.
B) Lines 55-58 (“While . . . lines”)
A) Lines 43-47 (“The companies . . . unsafe”)
C) Lines 68-70 (“Offering . . . issue”)
D) Lines 71-76 (“Bridj . . . not”)
C) A for-profit company that operates a fleet of city
buses faces negative publicity in relation to its
hiring practices.
D) The presence of multiple ride-sharing companies
in a city forces a taxi company to revise its
business model.
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CONTINUE
Test 1
39
41
The final paragraph of the passage serves primarily to
Which of the following represents the greatest
disparity, as represented in the chart?
A) urge the resolution of a debate.
A) Taxi cab rides and Uber rides, 2011
B) cast doubt on the value of an innovation.
B) Bus rides and Uber rides, 2013
C) examine the motives of a single group.
C) Lyft rides and Uber rides, 2015
D) note various points of uncertainty.
D) Uber rides and taxi cab rides, 2017
40
According to the chart, in what year did the combined
number of Uber and Lyft rides first overtake the
number of taxi cab rides in the Boston Metro Area?
A) 2012
42
The author of the passage would regard the data in the
chart as
A) of limited use in determining whether ridesharing companies have “devastated the private
taxi market” (line 14).
B) 2013
C) 2014
B) helpful in demonstrating that transit agencies
should regret “agreements with private-sector
competitors” (line 24).
D) 2015
C) reliably suggestive that Uber and Lyft “will likely
continue to grow” (line 56).
D) contradicting the idea that “private vehicles are
much faster” (line 83) than standard public
transportation.
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
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CONTINUE
Test 1
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
Questions 43-52 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
35
This passage is adapted from “The Nose
Knows: Oriental Honey Buzzards Use Nose
and Eyes to Forage for Sweet Treats” by
Charlotte Bhaskar. Originally published* by
EveryOne, the PlosOne community blog.
40
Winnie the . . . Buzzard? The Oriental honey
buzzard Pernis orientalis feeds primarily on
honey and bee or wasp larvae. But how do they
find their food?
In the winter, thousands of Oriental honey
buzzards migrate to Taiwan to forage. These
migrating honey buzzards especially target
apiaries for a tasty treat not found in nature:
“pollen dough.” Beekeepers make softball-sized
balls of pollen dough from pollen, soybeans, and
sugar to feed their bees in winter when flowers are
scarce.
The unusual appearance of pollen dough
(bright yellow, perfectly round, and very unlike
honeycombs or bee larvae) led PLOS ONE
authors to hypothesize that the honey buzzards
might be using their noses (olfaction) in addition
to visual sightings to identify the dough as food.
Olfaction doesn’t appear to be very ecologically
important to other raptor species, so the possibility
that honey buzzards use their sense of smell as
well as vision to find food is exciting.
Specifically, the authors asked:
1. Can honey buzzards distinguish between
visually identical doughs missing a
specific food ingredient (pollen, sugar, or
soybeans)?
2. Are buzzards influenced by the pollen
dough’s color?
50
55
60
65
70
To test these hypotheses, the authors ran
a series of field experiments. In their first
experiment, the authors focused on the buzzards’
ability to smell specific ingredients in the pollen
75
*See Page 217 for the citation for this text.
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45
199
dough—specifically pollen, one of their sources of
nutrition in the wild. To do so, the authors varied
the pollen, soybean, or sugar content between two
dough samples, but kept the appearance of both
samples identical in terms of texture, brightness,
and color (yellow).
In the second experiment, the authors
examined the buzzards’ reliance on visual cues by
varying the colors of two potential dough samples
between yellow, black, and green. They kept the
ingredients of both dough samples the same.
The third and final experiment was a variation
on the first experiment, in which the dough was
dyed black instead of yellow. The results from
experiment 1 revealed that buzzards strongly
preferred pollen-containing doughs. In the second
experiment, all buzzards exclusively chose to eat
yellow dough instead of black or green dough.
The results from the third experiment backed
up experiment 1’s results, with buzzards again
preferring to eat pollen-containing dough over
non-pollen-containing dough, even though it was
dyed black.
Based on the results from experiments 1 and
3, the authors posit that honey buzzards prefer
pollen-containing dough over dough with no
pollen added. It seems probable that the ability
to select between two visually identical samples
is based on the buzzards’ ability to smell the
differences.
The authors also looked at the olfactory
receptor (OR) gene repertoire size in the honey
buzzard’s genome. The number of different scents
a species can distinguish is linked to its number
of OR genes. Their gene analysis showed that
the Oriental honey buzzard has the largest OR
gene repertoire of the diurnal raptors—almost
five times as large as the OR gene repertoire of
peregrine falcons or golden eagles!
Taken together, these results suggest that the
Oriental honey buzzard uses both olfaction and
color vision when foraging for food. Additionally,
the results of experiment 3 (where all dough
samples were colored black) suggest that olfaction
might predominate over vision in cases where the
two senses seem to conflict.
CONTINUE
Test 1
80
While more work still needs to be done to
discover the extent of the role olfaction plays
in Oriental honey buzzards’ feeding strategy, it
seems clear that in this case the nose (or beak!)
knows.
44
In lines 14-15 and 26-27, the author of the passage
uses parenthetical phrases in order to
A) address apparent misconceptions that surround a
research project.
43
B) clarify some of the concepts or properties behind
specific terms.
The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to
describe
C) paraphrase testimonies from specialists in animal
biology.
A) fieldwork from different research teams that
yielded surprisingly similar results.
D) lend an approachable and easygoing tone to the
discussion.
B) popular beliefs that were overturned in the course
of a single study.
C) experiments dedicated to different factors as part
of a single coordinated inquiry.
D) different hypotheses that are individually
convincing yet ultimately incompatible.
Results of a 2012 Study of Oriental Honey Buzzard
Reactions to Dough Samples (Varying Scents from Varying
Pollen Content; Varying Color from Artificial Dyes)
Buzzard Age
Preferred Preferred Preferred Preferred
Scented Unscented Yellow
Black
3-8 years
35
0
35
0
10-12 years
40
0
27
13
14-18 years
20
0
11
9
Same Color
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
Same Scent
200
CONTINUE
Test 1
45
48
As used in line 22, “exciting” most nearly means
According to the passage, Oriental honey buzzards
possess a sense of smell that
A) intriguing.
A) plays a crucial role in enabling them to hunt live
prey.
B) unnerving.
C) entertaining.
B) is comparable in intensity to the sense of smell in
related raptor species.
D) unpredictable.
C) may override visual information about food
sources.
46
In what respect did the third experiment performed by
the researchers differ from the first experiment?
A) The first experiment did not consider variations in
dough composition.
D) becomes more powerful as the buzzards grow
older.
49
B) The first experiment did not consider variations in
dough color.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
C) The first experiment involved a larger sample of
buzzards.
A) Lines 5-9 (“In the winter . . . dough”)
D) The first experiment involved a smaller sample of
buzzards.
C) Lines 64-68 (“The authors . . . OR genes”)
47
B) Lines 19-22 (“Olfaction . . . exciting”)
D) Lines 75-79 (“Additionally . . . conflict”)
50
As used in lines 50, “exclusively” most nearly means
C) prejudicially.
Which choice most effectively suggests that the
researchers described in the passage gathered
conclusive evidence that is relevant to Question 2
(lines 28-29)?
D) consistently.
A) Lines 31-35 (“In their first . . . wild”)
A) unthinkingly.
B) sophisticatedly.
B) Lines 40-43 (“In the second . . . green”)
C) Lines 49-51 (“In the . . . dough”)
D) Lines 68-70 (“Their gene . . . raptors”)
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CONTINUE
Test 1
51
52
Together, the table and the graph indicate that
What might explain the disparity between the honey
buzzard responses indicated by the table and the
graph and the findings recorded in the passage?
A) younger honey buzzards do not use visual clues
to distinguish between food sources.
A) The passage most likely presents information that
pre-dates the information gathered in the table
and the graph.
B) younger honey buzzards distinguish between
food sources more rapidly than do older honey
buzzards.
B) The researchers mentioned in the passage
considered a sample population much smaller
than that considered for the table and the graph.
C) older honey buzzards respond to scents more
strongly than they respond to visual clues.
D) older honey buzzards typically survive without
relying on visual clues.
C) The researchers mentioned in the passage might
have tested honey buzzards from the youngest
age group indicated in the chart.
D) The researchers mentioned in the passage
intentionally tested birds other than honey
buzzards as part of their study.
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section.
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Answer Key on the Next Page
Answer Key: Test 1
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
Passage 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
B
C
D
D
A
A
C
B
C
C
C
B
C
A
A
D
A
B
D
C
D
D
D
A
B
C
B
A
C
D
B
Question Types
Major Issue
1-2, 11-12, 25, 43
Passage Details
4-5, 9, 15-16, 18, 22, 24, 27, 35, 39, 44, 46
Command of Evidence
6-7, 10, 14, 19-20, 21, 32-33, 37-38, 48-50
Word in Context
3, 8, 13, 17, 23, 26, 34, 36, 45, 47
Graphics and Visuals
40-42, 51-52
Passage Comparison
28-31
Copyright 2019 PrepVantage, online at prepvantagetutoring.com
204
A
D
D
A
D
C
B
D
B
D
A
C
B
A
B
D
C
D
C
C
C
Self-Evaluation
Checklist for Test 1
Passage Types
•
Hardest Readings ________________________ ; ________________________
•
Easiest Readings
________________________ ; ________________________
Sources of Difficulty
(Check all that apply.)
____ Comprehending Main Idea (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Remembering Passage Details (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Working with Style and Vocabulary (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
Question Types
•
Major Issue:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Passage Details: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
CoE:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Word in Context: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
Sources of Difficulty
____ Understanding the Question
____ Locating or Analyzing Evidence
(Check all that apply.)
____
Predicting the Answers____ Eliminating False Answers
Vocabulary
•
New Words: ______________________________________________________________________
•
Total Questions with Advanced Vocabulary ____
Number Right ____
Number Wrong ____
Overall Strategy
•
Time Per Passage (Estimate): 1 ____
•
Total Time for the Test ____
•
Passages with Note-Taking ____
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
•
Passages with NO Notes
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
____
2 ____
3____
Time Left Over ____
Sources of Difficulty ____ Slow Reading or Rereading
(Check all that apply.)
____ Inaccurate Annotations
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4 ____
5 ____
OR Time Needed Beyond 65 Minutes ____
____ Complicated or Time-Consuming Notes
____ Rushed Through Passages or Questions
Answer Explanations
Test 1, Pages 186-202
Passage 1, Pages 186-188
1. B is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on the narrator’s account of a barbershop that he recalls from his childhood, and which
continues to exist: “Today, Vic’s is just like it was when I was younger” (42-43). Choose B to reflect this
content; be careful not to choose C, since the narrator’s experience with Vic’s does NOT focus on a single
specific incident that carries a positive tone. A and D can both be eliminated as illogical and overly extreme
negatives since the passage does not discuss generational conflict (even though the adult barber is presented
as a negative figure) or damaging changes (even though the changes to the town meet with the narrator’s
disapproval).
2. C is the correct answer.
The passage begins with a general discussion of Vic’s barbershop and then gradually narrows in focus to
consider a particular type of hair-cutting: the “little boy’s cut.” Choose C to reflect this content. A is a trap
answer, since while the narrator’s tone in describing the little boy’s cut is not entirely positive, it is outside of
the scope of the passage to know whether he finds this practice offensive (as opposed to ridiculous). B and D
can both be eliminated, since the passage does NOT contain enough detailed analysis to determine whether
the narrator is interested in exploring ideology or questions of non-conformity, as opposed to being interested
in portraying a community in considerable detail.
3. D is the correct answer.
In line 9, “situated” refers to the physical location of the barbershop; choose answer D to reflect this content.
Be careful not to choose C, since “contextualized” refers to how meaning is constructed but not to the physical
position of an object or a location. A (indicating an explanation or allusion) and B (indicating purpose or
devotion) both raise contexts that are inappropriate to a straightforward description of a physical location.
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4. D is the correct answer.
The narrator indicates that it is impossible to miss the barbershop--“But you will notice this barbershop.
Certainly” (lines 15-16)--and attributes this situation to “a huge sign with gold letters on a dark red background”
(lines 17-18). Choose answer D to support this content. B and C can be dismissed since the barbershop is NOT
described as being particularly close to either the highway or major town institutions. A should be eliminated
since the shop’s problematic connection to rustic life would NOT influence whether it is or is not easy to
locate.
5. A is the correct answer.
In line 27, the parenthetical comment offers clarification by helping the reader to see a distinction between the
shop and the hypothetical owner; in lines 68-69, the comment draws attention to the narrator as the individual
who is controlling what information is provided to the reader. Choose A to support this content. D can be
eliminated, since neither parenthetical comment offers a clear tone; B can be dismissed as illogical, since the
second parenthetical comment reiterates information rather than introducing new information. C can also be
dismissed since the two comments refer to entirely different content.
6. A is the correct answer.
In lines 37-39, the narrator describes how the shop has a distinctive and unpleasant smell resulting from
routine activities occurring over and over. This content best supports A. Be careful not to choose C, since
nostalgia implies recollections that are positive, and while the barbershop triggers vivid memories for the
narrator, those memories are NOT necessarily positive. B can be dismissed since nothing in the description of
the shop as predictable indicates that the shop is disorderly, and D mistakenly appears to reference the name
of the barbershop (which IS a source of mystery) instead of the “interior,” which is not mysterious and is in
fact well-known to the narrator.
7. C is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A focuses on what conditions
would likely affect a business located in the same place as the barbershop; B discusses the why the name of the
shop is unusual. D suggests that the shop has remained the same for a long stretch of time. None of these other
answers give a relevant description of the nature of the shop’s interior, and therefore all should be rejected.
8. B is the correct answer.
In line 53, “add up to” refers to the haircut that results from the barber’s actions, so that this phrase means
“lead to” or “result in” in the context of the barber’s cumulative work. Choose B to reflect this meaning. A
wrongly refers to a group of people coming together, C wrongly refers to measurement, and D wrongly refers
to a scenario involving conflict or competition, so that none of these answers properly convey the idea of a
result or outcome.
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9. C is the correct answer.
Lines 53-57 describe how a father casually acknowledges the process of his son’s haircut because he is
already familiar with what the resulting style is going to be. This is most comparable to someone listening to
a symphony that he knows well; choose C to reflect this content. A can be dismissed since the father is not
represented as reassuring or even engaging with his child; B (which wrongly assumes a sense of deep personal
attachment for the father) and D (which assumes disinterest) can also both be rejected since they require
assumptions about the father’s emotional state as he watches the haircut progress, when the father is depicted
mostly as an approving OBSERVER of the emotions of other characters.
10. C is the correct answer.
In lines 59-64, the narrator notes with disapproval that there is no skill or aesthetic taste involved in executing
the “little boy’s cut,” and that the cut is likely to result in humiliation for the child. This content suggests that
the narrator disapproves of the cut; choose C. A gives a description of the barber and of how he approaches
his work; B describes the condescending term that is used to describe the particular hairstyle. D acknowledges
that the narrator has personally experienced wearing this hairstyle. None of these other answers convey
disapproval of the hairstyle, and all should be eliminated.
Passage 2, Pages 189-191
11. C is the correct answer.
Throughout the passage, Hume describes aspects of human psychology, such as the “incurable” draw toward
“frivolous temptations” (lines 15-16) and in turn describes the corresponding offices of government. Choose
C to reflect this content. A is wrong because the passage only makes brief reference to the potential of
governments to oppress. Eliminate B because the passage does not discuss historical ideas about government,
although it does mention the possible origins of a prince or leader. D can be ruled out, since the passage is
persuasive regarding the simple necessity of government, but not regarding PARTICIPATION in government.
12. B is the correct answer.
With respect to innate antisocial and destructive impulses, Hume says, “Men must, therefore, endeavor to
palliate what they cannot cure” (lines 17-18). B correctly identifies the major thesis that government can curb
social disorder. Eliminate A, which wrongly focuses on the topic of reform of government, when the passage
is mostly devoted to the motives and reasoning behind the CREATION of civil government. C should be ruled
out because punishment is only one item within a larger list of government duties, while D is wrong because
the passage is concerned with governance, NOT with matters of class.
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13. C is the correct answer.
The word “promoted” in this context refers to the advancement of one’s interests, so choose C. A is wrong
because this meaning of “promoted” refers more to a benefit or duty bestowed upon someone. B is an irrelevant
meaning in the present context, as it refers to the promulgation of information. D calls attention to the idea of
clarifying a concept (NOT to actions that take place) and should thus be ruled out.
14. A is the correct answer.
Lines 1-4 offer a universal statement about human behavior, which Hume devotes the rest of the passage to
proving, so that A is the best answer. B is wrong because, although it does describe a generality, it is less about
ideals and more about vices. C and D can be eliminated because they are both hypothetical statements that
describe potential objections to or nuances of Hume’s arguments, NOT statements that specify the ideals that
guide all people.
15. A is the correct answer.
Lines 17-18 declare that an intractable problem must at least be mitigated, so that A is the best answer.
Eliminate B, because this statement is a significant part of Hume’s thesis, NOT a weakness of it. C describes
these lines inaccurately, because they present Hume’s argument, NOT his opponents’ ideas, while D is wrong
because these lines are not hypothetical and Hume examines their premise for much of the passage.
16. D is the correct answer.
Line 36 describes a man who is both a bad neighbor and a bad citizen—someone unconcerned with the rules
of community or the laws of larger society. Choose D as the best answer. A draws too extreme a conclusion;
the man’s community’s perception of him is never described. B is baseless speculation about the man’s inner
state, so it is wrong, while C overstates the negative aspects of the behavior of the man, since this individual
is an undesirable neighbor and subject but is NOT an explicitly violent one.
17. A is the correct answer.
In this context, “impartial” describes the way that justice should be administered, a topic which many men are
naturally interested in. The best answer is A, “equitable,” because this usage refers to fairness. Rule out B and
C, which would better refer to a personal quality than to an abstract or social concept. D is most relevant to
something simple or fundamental, NOT to the administration of justice, and is thus out of context.
18. B is the correct answer.
Hume presents the belief that the “state of war” described in lines 77-78 most likely led to the emergence
of the social function of the leader. B is correct, while A is incorrect because Hume’s claim is not that peace
and war are similar, but that wartime leadership eventually became peacetime leadership. C is wrong because
democracy is not a characteristic of the posited early society. Eliminate D as an answer that mistakes Hume’s
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idea that the “state of war” persists among small savage groups for the very different idea that such a state is
present in small and isolated, but still organized, societies.
19. D is the correct answer.
About the magistrate, Hume says, “. . . after government is established, a regard to birth, rank, and station,
has a mighty influence over men, and enforces the decrees of the magistrate . . .” (lines 59-62). These lines
clearly describe a relationship between respect for authority and the efficacy of the magistrate. Choose D as
a reflection of this content. Eliminate A, since the magistrate is an abstract office but is filled by real people.
B is incorrect because the magistrate is a separate role from that of the leader, even if both are important. C is
incorrect because the passage discusses not fear but respect as the reason for the magistrate’s power.
20. C is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A is wrong because it describes
flaws of specific magistrates and does not closely relate to the overall office. B can be ruled out because while
it does introduce the idea that allegiance to authority is innate, the relevant line reference involves more of a
general statement, while D is wrong because it relates not to magistrates but to the leader or prince.
Passage 3, Pages 192-194
21. D is the correct answer.
Lines 36-40 describe dogs who were buried with decorative, meaningful items: a necklace and possibly a toy.
Because of the degree of care implied by these findings, D best supports the proposition in lines 5-8. A, B,
and C describe the background and methods of the study, rather than its specific findings, so eliminate these
options.
22. D is the correct answer.
Lines 29-40 explain the age, species, characteristics, and context of the archaeological evidence under
consideration in the study. The relevant claim would be therefore best contradicted by archaeological findings
of the same type of canid remains but in a setting different enough to render conclusions impossible to draw.
Choose D. Eliminate A, since it would contradict conclusions about the objects found, but not the fact of their
existence. B is incorrect, because discovering similar sites would REINFORCE the authors’ conclusions.
Eliminate C because the findings about the dogs’ diets are not mentioned in these lines.
23. D is the correct answer.
In this context, “intimate” is parallel to “personal” and describes the “relationship” of the people and their
dogs. Choose D, which is the meaning most in line with “personal.” Rule out A, which is similar in meaning
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but introduces an inappropriate negative tone. B is likewise too extreme a meaning and can be eliminated
since it wrongly indicates a context of hidden information or of something unknown. C, “routine,” wrongly
introduces the context of repetition rather than calling attention to a close relationship.
24. A is the correct answer.
The final sentence of Passage 1 summarizes of the authors’ conclusion about the relationship of ancient
humans and dogs, a conclusion which is briefly explained in the first paragraph. Choose A and rule out B
because this is not a methodological claim. C is incorrect because it is not a clarification, but a conclusion. D
is also incorrect because, while it is a restatement of lines 5-8, there is no strong indication that the authors
regarded a finding as surprising, but simply that a specific finding is their major takeaway.
25. B is the correct answer.
Passage 2 presents the obstacles that arise in relation to attempts to pinpoint the origin of domestic dogs and
mentions recent work that clarifies some complex issues. Choose B to reflect this content. A is wrong because
the authors describe not a new debate but overarching problems faced within a field of study. C is wrong
because while the authors do appear hopeful for some certainty, they make no claims to settle all the issues
of continued research in the field. D is wrong because it is too specific; the passage identifies conflicting
hypotheses but does NOT eliminate one or another on the basis of faulty reasoning.
26. C is the correct answer.
“Divergent” in this context refers to the variety of perspectives that researchers have shared regarding the
origins of the domestic dog. Choose C, which fits the situation of numerous, differing viewpoints. Rule
out A, which is an extreme and highly negative meaning of “divergent.” B and D would both indicate that
the perspectives considered in the passage are unclear or difficult to define, so that these answers introduce
inappropriate negatives as well.
27. D is the correct answer.
Passage 2 emphasizes the similarity of wolves and domestic dogs, with the authors stating in lines 78-80 that
early dogs were the same size as wolves were. Choose B and eliminate A, which applies a faulty negative tone
to a passage that primarily presents wolves as a point of comparison for domesticated dogs, NOT as a threat to
humans. C contradicts the text in lines 78-80, so rule it out. D is also not discussed by the text, since the author
focuses on domesticated dog species that resembled wolves, NOT on the domestication of actual wolves.
28. A is the correct answer.
Passage 1 discusses genetic analysis (line 18, A), radiocarbon dating (line 25, C), and dietary analysis (lines
41-44, D). Passage 2 explicitly discusses only genetic analysis (line 18), but even if other methods (such as
digital modeling, B) underly the discussion, they are never mentioned. Therefore, A is correct.
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29. C is the correct answer.
The authors of Passage 2 are most concerned with establishing an earliest possible date and location for the
domestication of dogs. As they state in lines 96-98, “A recent study has suggested the presence of a domestic
dog in Siberia dated to ca. 33,000 BC, which predates the oldest evidence from Western Europe and the
Near East.” Therefore, choose C, since the authors are considering evidence much older than is presented
in Passage 1. A can be eliminated, since it involves speculation about the perspective of “the public.” B is
irrelevant because the burial sites describe human attitudes toward dogs and the authors are not, in those
lines, describing the physiology of the canid skeletons. D is wrong because it mistakes the geographic focus
on Siberia in Passage 2 for an argument that a group of research findings (which may in fact have broad
implications not mentioned in the passage) are not applicable beyond Siberia.
30. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A is incorrect because it is
not relevant to the main claim of Passage 1. B is only tangentially related to dating samples, the concern of
Passage 2, and since the authors of Passage 1 are certain about the identification of the canids as dogs, not
wolves, this answer can be eliminated. C is not an item of evidence, but instead a general statement about the
longevity of several species, so that it is wrong.
31. B is the correct answer.
Passage 1 mostly analyzes the relationship between humans and dogs, whereas Passage 2 is mostly concerned
with summarizing and drawing conclusions from large-scale findings. B is correct. A is not an effective answer
because it names experts who would be of interest to the authors of BOTH passages and thus contradicts the
question prompt. C introduces a similar problem since almost all of the archaeological evidence discussed
by each passage deals with “canid specimens,” while D is incorrect because both passages involve evidence
found in Siberia.
Passage 4, Pages 195-198
32. A is the correct answer.
In lines 28-32, the author refers back to the subsidized ride projects mentioned in the first paragraph and
indicates that there are “numerous pilot projects” similar to these endeavors. This information supports A. B
wrongly applies a strongly negative tone to the effects of ride-sharing companies, while the author in fact calls
attention to both positive and negative effects in the passage. C mistakes this combination of clear positives
and negatives for “uncertainty” on the part of researchers (who are not mentioned in any accompanying line
reference) while D criticizes the business practices of taxi companies (which are facing problems due to the
efficiency of ride-sharing companies, NOT due necessarily due to their own poor choices).
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33. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A indicates that Uber and Lyft
are participating in “subsidized rides” projects, B notes the ability of ride-sharing companies to pose a threat
to taxi companies, and C calls attention to a possible liability of collaboration between ride-sharing companies
and public transit options. Although all of these choices relate to ride-sharing, none of them align with answers
to the previous question, though make sure not to wrongly align B with Question 32 D.
34. D is the correct answer.
In line 11, “push” indicates an action related to the kind of increased competition that will cause or “motivate”
transit agencies to “innovate and improve” (line 12). Choose D to reflect this context of outcomes and this
positive tone. A (context of spreading news), B (wrongly negative), and C (best for a context of support or
physical accumulation) all introduce faulty meanings or connotations and should thus be eliminated.
35. A is the correct answer.
In requiring a scenario that involves “benefits” and “risks” related to the presence of ride-sharing in the context
of public transportation, the question calls for an answer that combines positive and negative elements. The
pairing of “discounted rides” (positive) with “falling earnings and massive layoffs” (negative) makes A an
appropriate answer. Eliminate B and D as not presenting any clear negative consequences for public transit or
taxi services as outlined in the paragraph, and eliminate C as placing emphasis on negatives (NOT positives,
as the paragraph necessitates) for a ride-sharing company.
36. D is the correct answer.
In line 35, “fill” refers to the “transportation needs” that private companies are designed to address in an
effective manner, or to “satisfy.” Choose D and eliminate A and B, which would indicate that the “transportation
needs” have disappeared or are no longer important, NOT that the needs are being met by valued companies.
C raises the context of people or items being placed together, NOT the context of a need fulfilled by a service
or company.
37. C is the correct answer.
In lines 55-58, the author discusses one of the limitations that faces companies such as Uber and Lyft: these
companies cannot draw commuters off of transit lines, and naturally do not own such transit lines themselves.
This observation of an advantage that ride-sharing companies do NOT have occurs in the context of a discussion
of why it is “unlikely” (line 49) that ride-sharing will replace mass transit, so that C indicates a situation that,
if it were possible, might benefit ride-sharing companies. A only calls attention to transit stations (not to transit
lines overall), while B and D call attention to tactics that might help ride-sharing companies but that are NOT
directly related in the passage the elimination of public transportation.
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38. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A calls attention to sources of
dissatisfaction with public transportation, C broadly indicates that ride-sharing can co-exist with public transit
(NOT replace it), and D explains one initiative that links a ride-sharing company to public transit services.
Only A effectively indicates that ride-sharing is superior to public transit in some respects, but does not raise
any possibilities for how ride-sharing would completely replace public transit options.
39. D is the correct answer.
The final paragraph raises a “question” (line 87) about new relationships and notes a situation related to
ride-sharing companies that is “not yet clear” (line 96). This paragraph thus raises a few different points of
uncertainty as described in D. Choose this answer and eliminate A (which indicates certainty and resolution
instead) and B (which is strongly negative, NOT uncertain). C mistakes the paragraph’s analysis of possibilities
for an examination of desires or “motives,” and wrongly references “a single group” when in fact multiple
groups (riders, disability advocates, agencies, and companies) are mentioned.
40. B is the correct answer.
In 2012, there were almost 200 million cab rides in the Boston Metro Area, while there were fewer than 100
million Uber rides and fewer than 50 million Lyft rides. However, the number of Uber rides alone exceeded
the number of cab rides in 2013. For this reason, eliminate A and choose B as indicating the FIRST year to
fulfill the requirement of more Uber and Lyft rides (combined) than cab rides. C and D both indicate years in
which Uber rides alone CONTINUED to exceed cab rides.
41. D is the correct answer.
Consider the differences represented by each pairing: A represents a difference of less than 100 million,
B represents a difference of just over 100 million, C represents a difference of roughly 50 million, and D
represents a difference of well over 150 million. On the basis of this evidence, D is the best answer.
42. A is the correct answer.
Although the chart indicates that the ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft grew to provide more rides than
taxi companies did in the Boston Metro Area, the chart does not consider other areas of the country or provide
financial information (as the passage does). Thus, the chart would be of limited use in assessing the effect of
ride-sharing companies on taxi companies, as indicated in A. Choose this answer and eliminate B (agreements
between groups) and D (vehicle speed) as answers that wrongly offer strong statements based on factors that
are NOT considered in the chart. C relies on a faulty extrapolation beyond the years explicitly given in the
chart, which are the only years that can be analyzed here, since the growth in rides for Uber and Lyft up to
2017 does NOT necessarily indicate that these companies will offer more rides in the future.
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Passage 5, Pages 199-202
43. C is the correct answer.
The passage describes how researchers tried to determine whether or not honey buzzards used smell as a way
of finding food (a single inquiry) and the three distinct experiments utilized in the process of answering this
question. Choose C to reflect this content. A can be dismissed since the fieldwork was all conducted by a single
research team, while B can be rejected since the passage’s most conversational and accessible segments (such
as the first paragraph) should not be mistaken for expressions of popular beliefs held at the start of the study.
D can also be rejected since the study began with a SINGLE hypothesis that was subsequently investigated
under a series of coordinated studies.
44. B is the correct answer.
In lines 15-16 and 26-27, the author of the passage uses parenthetical phrases to offer clarifying information
such as definitions or examples, explaining (respectively) the appearance of pollen dough and the nature of
various food ingredients. Choose B to support this content. A can be eliminated since the phrases only offer
objective information, not persuasive rhetoric designed to address misconceptions, while C can be rejected
since the phrases do NOT immediately follow statements from specialists. D can be rejected since the phrases
convey information rather than serving stylistic functions.
45. A is the correct answer.
In line 22, “exciting” refers to a possibility that could be intellectually engaging or interesting since, from
a research perspective, this possibility could be an important way of distinguishing honey buzzards from
other bird species. Choose A to reflect this meaning. B (inappropriately implying something that is worrying
or alarming), C (inappropriately implying something that merely provides pleasure or amusement), and D
(inappropriately implying something that is unstable or uncertain) all introduce improper contexts and should
thus be eliminated.
46. B is the correct answer.
In both the first and third experiments, different dough samples with varying ingredients were used, but in
the third experiment, the dough was dyed black. This, the first experiment did not test for variations in dough
color: choose B to support this content. A can be eliminated since both experiments involved variations in
dough composition, while C and D can be eliminated since the passage gives no indication that the number of
buzzards varied in either experiment.
47. D is the correct answer.
In line 50, “exclusively” refers to a behavior (here, buzzards reliably choosing to eat a certain kind of food) that
is repeated in every case. Choose D to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying that a behavior was
repeated without reflection or consideration), B (inappropriately implying that a behavior was an indication
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of intelligence or progress), and C (inappropriately implying that a behavior was an indication of bias) all
introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
48. C is the correct answer.
In lines 75-79, the author explains that buzzards might rely on their sense of smell more than on their sense
of sight in the process of determining what to eat. Choose C to reflect this content. A can be rejected since the
discussion of how buzzards use their sense of smell is limited to the context of eating pollen dough, NOT the
context of eating live prey. B can be rejected since the power of the sense of smell is not contrasted between
raptor species, and D can be rejected since there is no discussion of how smell might change as buzzards age.
49. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A explains a particular food
source that is popular with honey buzzards, while B explains why a particular hypothesis was intriguing to
researchers. C explains how genetic analysis was used to complement the fieldwork studies. None of these
line references explain that buzzards might favor olfactory information over visual information about food
sources, and they should all therefore be rejected.
50. C is the correct answer.
Lines 28-29 identify a central research question: whether or not buzzards are influenced by the color of pollen
dough. In lines 49-51, the author indicates that experiments showed all buzzards consistently choosing to eat
yellow dough, rather than dough which had been artificially colored. This finding offers a strong answer to the
research question posed at the beginning of the study, so choose C to support this content. A describes the goal
of the first experiment, which reflected a different research question, while B describes how the experiment
designed to test buzzards’ response to visual cues was set up. D describes an apparent genetic difference
between honey buzzards and other similar bird species. None of these answers present a finding that addresses
the second research question, and they should therefore all be eliminated.
51. C is the correct answer.
The table and the graph indicate that the oldest group of buzzards represents the smallest portion of the
overall buzzard population involved in the study, that these older buzzards showed an exclusive preference
for scented over unscented dough, and that these buzzards exhibited a mild preference for yellow over black
dough. This data suggests that older buzzards display a stronger response to variation in scent cues than they
do to variation in color cues; choose C to reflect this content. A can be eliminated since the youngest buzzards
showed the strongest preference for yellow dough, indicating that these buzzards rely strongly on visual cues,
while B can be eliminated since the graphs do not give any indication of how long it took buzzards to respond
to either visual or scent cues. D can be eliminated since it makes an overly broad assumption about the issue
of how buzzards survive, NOT about how buzzards react to a few food sources as noted in the table.
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52. C is the correct answer.
The table and the graph indicate findings for three different groups of buzzards, and for the youngest group of
buzzards, the findings from the 2012 study represented in the table are consistent with the findings recorded
in the passage. This situation suggests that the buzzards studied in the research described in the passage might
have been from the youngest age group. Choose C to reflect this content. A can be rejected since there is
nothing to indicate that the different findings would be tied to different dates, while B can be rejected since a
smaller population does NOT necessarily imply inconsistent results. D can also be rejected, since nothing in
the passage indicates that researchers would have had reason to test birds other than honey buzzards.
NOTES
•
The first reading for Passage 3 on Page 192, “Sharing Was Caring for Ancient Humans and Their Prehistoric Pups,” is adapted from
the article of the same name published by EveryOne, the PLOS One community blog. 28 May 2013, PLOS One. https://blogs.plos.org/
everyone/2013/05/28/sharing-was-caring-for-ancient-humans-and-their-prehistoric-pups/. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
The second reading for Passage 3 on Pages 192-193, “Ancient DNA Analysis of the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian Arctic and
Genetic Contribution to the Domestic Dog,” is adapted from the article of the same name published as a PLOS One journal article. 27 May
2015, PLOS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#abstract0. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 4 on Pages 195-196, “Can Public Transit and Ride-Share Companies Get Along?,” is adapted from the article of the same name
published by The Conversation. 22 September 2016, The Conversation online. https://theconversation.com/can-public-transit-and-rideshare-companies-get-along-64269. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 5 on Pages 199-200, “The Nose Knows: Oriental Honey Buzzards Use Nose and Eyes to Forage for Sweet Treats,” is adapted from
the article of the same name published by EveryOne, the PLOS One community blog. 11 September 2016, PLOS One. https://blogs.plos.
org/everyone/2015/09/11/the-nose-knows-oriental-honey-buzzards-use-nose-and-eyes-to-forage-for-sweet-treats/. Accessed 7 January 2019.
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Test 2
Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table
or graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following
passage.
This passage is an excerpt from “A Death in
the Desert” (1903) by Willa Cather.
Line
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Everett Hilgarde was conscious that the
man in the seat across the aisle was looking at
him intently. He was a large, florid man, wore
a conspicuous diamond solitaire upon his third
finger, and Everett judged him to be a traveling
salesman of some sort. He had the air of an
adaptable fellow who had been about the world
and who could keep cool and clean under almost
any circumstances.
The “High Line Flyer,” as this train was
derisively called among railroad men, was
jerking along through the hot afternoon over the
monotonous country between Holdridge and
Cheyenne. Besides the blond man and himself
the only occupants of the car were two dusty,
bedraggled-looking girls who had been to the
Exposition at Chicago, and who were earnestly
discussing the cost of their first trip out of
Colorado. The four uncomfortable passengers
were covered with a sediment of fine, yellow
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dust which clung to their hair and eyebrows
like gold powder. It blew up in clouds from the
bleak, lifeless country through which they passed,
until they were one color with the sagebrush and
sandhills. The gray-and-yellow desert was varied
only by occasional ruins of deserted towns, and
the little red boxes of station houses, where the
spindling trees and sickly vines in the bluegrass
yards made little green reserves fenced off in that
confusing wilderness of sand. . . .
The blonde gentleman had seemed interested
in Everett since they had boarded the train at
Holdridge, and kept glancing at him curiously
and then looking reflectively out of the window,
as though he were trying to recall something. But
wherever Everett went someone was almost sure
to look at him with that curious interest, and it had
ceased to embarrass or annoy him. Presently the
stranger, seeming satisfied with his observation,
leaned back in his seat, half-closed his eyes,
and began softly to whistle the “Spring Song”
from Proserpine, the cantata that a dozen years
before had made its young composer famous in a
night. Everett had heard that air on guitars in Old
Mexico, on mandolins at college glees, on cottage
organs in New England hamlets, and only two
CONTINUE
Test 2
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weeks ago he had heard it played on sleighbells at
a variety theater in Denver. There was literally no
way of escaping his brother’s precocity. Adriance
could live on the other side of the Atlantic, where
his youthful indiscretions were forgotten in his
mature achievements, but his brother had never
been able to outrun Proserpine, and here he
found it again in the Colorado sand hills. Not that
Everett was exactly ashamed of Proserpine; only
a man of genius could have written it, but it was
the sort of thing that a man of genius outgrows as
soon as he can.
Everett unbent a trifle and smiled at his
neighbor across the aisle. Immediately the large
man rose and, coming over, dropped into the seat
facing Hilgarde, extending his card.
“Dusty ride, isn’t it? I don’t mind it myself;
I’m used to it. . . I’ve been trying to place you for
a long time; I think I must have met you before.”
“Thank you,” said Everett, taking the card;
“my name is Hilgarde. You’ve probably met my
brother, Adriance; people often mistake me for
him.”
The traveling man brought his hand down upon
his knee with such vehemence that the solitaire
blazed.
“So I was right after all, and if you’re not
Adriance Hilgarde, you’re his double. I thought I
couldn’t be mistaken. Seen him? Well, I guess! I
never missed one of his recitals at the Auditorium,
and he played the piano score of Proserpine
through to us once at the Chicago Press Club. I
used to be on the Commercial there before I began
to travel for the publishing department of the
concern. So you’re Hilgarde’s brother, and here
I’ve run into you at the jumping-off place. Sounds
like a newspaper yarn, doesn’t it?”
The traveling man laughed and offered Everett
a cigar, and plied him with questions on the only
subject that people ever seemed to care to talk to
Everett about.
1
The main purpose of the passage is to demonstrate
A) how one character’s pessimistic outlook can be
explained by another character’s success.
B) how one character uses conversation to distract
himself from unpleasant events.
C) how two characters strike up a friendship despite
apparent differences of opinion.
D) how two characters react to one another in the
course of a chance encounter.
2
Which choice best describes a technique that the
narrator uses to develop Everett as a character?
A) Illustrating Everett’s attitude towards both
Proserpine and his brother by presenting a few of
Everett’s thoughts and memories
B) Implying that Everett is eager for change by
contrasting details from Everett’s past and
present
C) Hinting at Everett’s motives by creating a parallel
between Everett’s distance from his brother and
Everett’s misunderstanding of Proserpine
D) Defining Everett’s background by contrasting
Everett’s comments and gestures with those of
the traveling man
3
In context, the name of the train on which Everett is a
passenger is best understood as
A) unlucky.
B) ironic.
C) endearing.
D) puzzling.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
4
7
The description that appears in lines 25-30 (“The
gray-and-yellow . . . sand”) serves mainly to
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) complement Everett’s state of personal
discontent.
A) Lines 44-48 (“Everett . . . Denver”)
B) suggest that Everett’s destination will be remote
and unpleasant.
C) Lines 52-54 (“his brother . . . hills”)
B) Lines 49-52 (“Adriance . . . achievements”)
D) Lines 54-58 (“Not that . . . can”)
C) introduce a culture that is unfamiliar to the major
characters.
D) expand upon a previous characterization of a
landscape.
8
Upon learning that he has mistaken Everett for
Adriance, the traveling man reacts by
5
A) treating Everett in the same admiring manner in
which he would have treated Adriance.
Which choice does NOT effectively indicate that the
meeting described in the passage resembles earlier
meetings in Everett’s life?
B) asking Everett to attempt to contact Adriance.
C) acknowledging his error but conveying his
delight in meeting Everett.
A) Lines 35-38 (“But . . . him”)
D) analyzing Proserpine in a manner that is meant to
appeal to Everett.
B) Lines 59-62 (“Everett . . . card”)
C) Lines 66-68 (“Thank you . . . him”)
D) Lines 84-87 (“The traveling . . . about”)
9
As used in line 71, “vehemence” most nearly means
6
A) unbounded passion.
On the basis of the passage, Everett would mostly
likely agree that Proserpine is
B) unwavering devotion.
C) persuasive tact.
A) likely to increase in popularity despite its stylistic
flaws.
D) physical force.
B) a manifestation of his brother’s talent as a
composer.
C) a reflection of his brother’s difficult yet intriguing
personality.
D) consistently pleasing regardless of the style in
which it is played.
10
As used in line 81, “concern” most nearly means
A) coverage.
B) circumstance.
C) corporation.
D) calling.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
of all faculties, absolutely incapacitates the
average woman for the outside world.
Questions 11-21 are based on the
following passages.
Passage 1 is adapted from Emma Goldman,
“Marriage and Love” (1911). Passage 2 is
adapted from Ida Tarbell, The Business of
Being a Woman (1921).
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Passage 1
The woman considers her position as worker
transitory, to be thrown aside for the first bidder.
That is why it is infinitely harder to organize
women than men. “Why should I join a union?
I am going to get married, to have a home.” Has
she not been taught from infancy to look upon that
as her ultimate calling? She learns soon enough
that the home, though not so large a prison as
the factory, has more solid doors and bars. It has
a keeper so faithful that naught can escape him.
The most tragic part, however, is that the home
no longer frees her from wage slavery; it only
increases her task.
According to the latest statistics submitted
before a Committee “on labor and wages, and
congestion of population,” ten per cent. of
the wage workers in New York City alone are
married, yet they must continue to work at the
most poorly paid labor in the world. Add to this
horrible aspect the drudgery of housework, and
what remains of the protection and glory of the
home? As a matter of fact, even the middleclass girl in marriage can not speak of her home,
since it is the man who creates her sphere. It is
not important whether the husband is a brute or
a darling. What I wish to prove is that marriage
guarantees woman a home only by the grace of
her husband. There she moves about in HIS home,
year after year, until her aspect of life and human
affairs becomes as flat, narrow, and drab as her
surroundings. Small wonder if she becomes a
nag, petty, quarrelsome, gossipy, unbearable, thus
driving the man from the house. She could not go,
if she wanted to; there is no place to go. Besides, a
short period of married life, of complete surrender
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Passage 2
Every night they draw to their shelter millions
of men who have toiled since morning to earn
the money to build and keep them running. All
day they shelter millions of women who toil from
dawn to dark to put meaning into them. To shelter
two people and the children that come to them, to
provide them a place in which to eat and sleep, is
that the only function of these homes? If that were
all, few homes would be built. When that becomes
all, the home is no more! To furnish a body for a
soul, that is the physical function of the home.
There are certain people who cry out that for a
woman this undertaking has no meaning—that for
her it is a cook stove and a dustpan, a childbed,
and a man who regards her as his servant. One
might with equal justice say that for the man
it is made up of ten, twelve, or more hours, at
the plow, the engine, the counter, or the pen for
the sake of supporting a woman and children
whom he rarely sees! Unhappily, there are such
combinations; they are not homes! They are
deplorable failures of people who have tried to
make homes. To insist that they are anything else
is to overlook the facts of life, to doubt the sanity
of mankind which hopefully and courageously
goes on building, building, building, sacrificing,
binding itself forever and ever to what?—a shell?
No, to the institution which its observation and
experience tell it is the one out of which men
and women have gotten the most hope, dignity,
and joy—the place through which, whatever
its failures and illusions, they get the fullest
development and the opportunity to render the
most useful social service.
It is this grounded conviction that the home
takes first rank among social institutions which
gives its tremendous seriousness to the Business
of Being a Woman. She is the one who must sit
always at its center, the one who holds a strategic
position for dealing directly with its problems.
CONTINUE
Test 2
80
Far from these problems being purely of a menial
nature, as some would have us believe, they are
of the most delicate social and spiritual import.
A woman in reality is at the head of a social
laboratory where all the problems are of primary,
not secondary, importance, since they all deal
directly with human life.
13
As used in line 33, “driving” most nearly means
A) repelling.
B) manipulating.
C) relaying.
D) motivating.
11
In Passage 1, Goldman argues that men
A) refuse to acknowledge the negative repercussions
of social expectations for women.
B) suppress women’s natural inquisitiveness in a
gradual and methodical manner.
14
As used in lines 45 and 48, “function” most nearly
means
A) event.
C) dominate domestic life in a manner that
undermines women’s independence.
B) recreation.
D) are unappreciative of women regardless of
women’s personal attributes.
D) purpose.
C) structure.
15
12
The main effect of Tarbell’s exclamation in
lines 57-58 is to
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) lament a reality that afflicts most women of
Tarbell’s era.
A) Lines 5-7 (“Has . . . calling?”)
B) Lines 19-20 (“Add . . . home?”)
B) respond to ideas about social reform that Tarbell
finds inadvisable.
C) Lines 28-31 (“There . . . surroundings”)
C) emphasize a shortcoming that is a central topic of
Tarbell’s analysis.
D) Lines 34-37 (“Besides . . . world”)
D) address an apparent weakness of Tarbell’s method
of explanation.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
16
19
The final paragraph of Passage 2 provides
Goldman in Passage 1 would argue that the “man”
described in line 52 is
A) an exhortation to women to take more active and
innovative roles within the home.
A) an intentional caricature that is meant to provoke
discussion.
B) a broad and admiring overview of women’s
responsibilities within the home.
C) a synopsis of various ideas about the qualities that
distinguish women from men.
D) a description of a specific household that provides
a model of effective conduct.
B) a figure of authority who has over-estimated the
extent of his power.
C) a symbol of a lifestyle that is quickly vanishing.
D) an accurate embodiment of broad tendencies.
20
17
Tarbell in Passage 2 would respond to Goldman’s
central claims in Passage 1 by
Which of the following ideas is present in both
passages?
A) arguing that Goldman has misinterpreted
necessary stages in women’s progress as periods
of oppression.
A) Participation in the workforce can have
dispiriting effects.
B) Home life should be based on reasonable
compromises.
B) rejecting Goldman’s stance as wrongheaded in its
depiction of women as subordinate within their
own households.
C) Women should be cautious about pursuing social
and political reform.
C) pointing out that Goldman has underestimated
the economic importance of home life by
focusing mainly on moral failings.
D) Men take little interest in the home-oriented
activities of women.
D) expressing doubt about Goldman’s contention
that men and women both seem resigned to their
traditional roles.
18
One important purpose of each passage is to
A) offer historical commentary on the deteriorating
social status of women.
21
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
B) describe how women can seek moral
improvement despite their disadvantages.
A) Lines 45-47 (“If that . . . more!”)
C) explain why few precedents exist for the current
situation of women.
B) Lines 58-60 (“They . . . homes”)
D) assess whether women’s participation in domestic
life is fulfilling and meaningful.
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C) Lines 60-64 (“To insist . . . shell?”)
D) Lines 75-77 (“She . . . problems”)
CONTINUE
Test 2
Questions 22-32 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from “Florida’s Coral
Reefs Provide Window into the Past,” an
article released* in 2018 by the United States
Geological Survey (USGS).
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The Florida Keys coral reefs stopped growing
or significantly slowed their growth at least
3000 years ago and have been balanced between
persistence and erosion ever since, according to
a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The
study, published in the journal Global Change
Biology, also points to coral bleaching and disease
outbreaks as signs that changing conditions may
have recently tipped the 200-mile-long coral reef
tract into a state of erosion.
USGS marine scientists based in St.
Petersburg, Florida analyzed 46 coral reef cores
collected throughout the Keys, reconstructing the
reefs’ growth from 8000 years ago, when layers
of living coral began building up on top of older
bedrock, to the present day. Throughout that
time, long-lasting climate cycles and associated
changes in ocean temperatures have been the
most important factors controlling the growth of
Florida’s reefs, the scientists found. A shift toward
cooler water temperatures effectively ended
the reefs’ development long before the visible
declines in coral health and coral cover of the past
few decades, they reported.
“If you were to test a sample from the top layer
of a typical Florida reef, you would most likely
find that it’s between 3000 and 6000 years old,”
said Lauren Toth, a USGS research oceanographer
and the study’s lead author. “Florida’s reefs still
had living corals after that time, they just weren’t
building much new reef structure.”
The researchers examined reef core samples
collected between 1976 and 2017 from Biscayne
National Park in Miami-Dade County to Dry
Tortugas National Park 70 miles from Key
West. The scientists used radiocarbon dating—a
standard technique for finding the ages of corals
*See Page 247 for the citation for this text.
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and other materials—and measured the amount
the reef grew between the dates they had identified
to create the first comprehensive reconstruction
of coral reef growth along the entire Florida reef
tract.
Modern coral reefs started growing off the
Florida peninsula more than 8000 years ago.
Their most rapid growth rate, almost 10 feet every
thousand years, peaked about 7000 years ago,
when water temperatures were ideal for coral
growth, the USGS researchers found. About 6000
years ago, the reefs’ growth rate slowed to about 3
feet per thousand years.
Corals can be killed by water that is hotter or
colder than the narrow band of temperatures in
which most species grow best, between about 65
and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Most reefs are found
in the tropics, but the Florida Keys reef tract is
unique because it lies in subtropical waters.
About 5000 years ago, a natural cooling cycle
made the seas off Florida prone to winter cold
snaps. In the colder conditions of the past few
thousand years, the reefs became “geologically
senescent,” meaning that reef growth was
negligible and just a veneer of living coral
remained, the study found. More than one-third
of the reefs have not grown at all in the past 3000
years, and the rest have not kept up with rising sea
level.
Other factors, such as influxes of estuarine
water from shallow Florida Bay, also stressed the
Keys reefs, the researchers found. But they were
likely not as important as the corals’ repeated
exposure to cold water in winter.
Even after the Keys reefs stopped growing
upward, they supported diverse communities of
marine life, protected the island chain from storm
waves and erosion, and provided other ecosystem
functions for thousands of years. But in the
last few decades, warmer water, coral diseases,
bleaching and other stresses caused the reefs to
begin eroding, the researchers said.
“For 3000 years, Florida’s reefs have been
balanced at a delicate tipping point. Although
reefs were no longer growing, there was enough
living coral to prevent them from eroding,” Toth
CONTINUE
Test 2
85
said. “But with the dramatic declines in living
coral in Florida and around the world in recent
decades, we may now be on the verge of losing
reef structures that took thousands of years to
build.”
23
The study described in the passage supports the idea
that ocean water temperature changes
A) are difficult to relate to the Earth’s climate cycles
in a predictable manner.
22
B) are one of several important factors that can cause
coral reefs to decrease in size.
Throughout the passage, the author takes the
position of
C) can compensate for various ways in which human
activity has harmed coral reefs.
A) an amateur researcher who intends to contribute
to future projects.
D) have become less severe in the past 3000 years.
B) an unbiased reporter who possesses specialized
information.
24
C) an outspoken critic who is unsettled by an
ecological crisis.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
D) a thoughtful spectator who hopes to find the
solution to a crisis.
A) Lines 1-5 (“The Florida Keys . . . Survey”)
B) Lines 16-20 (“Throughout . . . found”)
C) Lines 59-63 (“In the colder . . . found”)
D) Lines 76-79 (“But . . . eroding”)
Temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit
Statistics: Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem
Years from
Present
-9000
Growth Rate (feet
per thousand years)
N/A
-8000
2
-7000
10
-6000
7
60
-5000
4
50
-4000
3
40
-3000
3
-2000
3
-1000
1
0
0
100
Average Water Temperature Over Time
90
80
70
-8000
-6000
-4000
-2000
Present
Years from the Present
NOTE: The thick black line represents the average yearly water
temperature of the reef ecosystem, while the gray shaded
region represents the ideal temperature range for coral reef
growth.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
25
28
As used in line 7, “points to” most nearly means
As used in line 46, “peaked” most nearly means
A) hints at.
A) reached a maximum.
B) singles out.
B) became excessive.
C) accuses.
C) was most impressive.
D) stigmatizes.
D) defied comparison.
26
29
Which of the following coral specimens would NOT
be present in the reefs of the Florida Keys according
to the passage?
The author includes information about conditions
“after the Keys reefs stopped growing” (line 72) in
order to
A) A 4000 year-old coral specimen that was killed
when water temperatures dipped to 60 degrees
A) urge further inquiries that respond to the recent
research findings about the role of cold water in
reef deterioration.
B) A 5000 year-old specimen attached to the top
layer of the coral reef
B) suggest that temperature changes have not
prevented the reefs from serving important
functions.
C) A 6000 year-old coral specimen that was found at
the outer edge of a reef formation
C) express optimism that new preservation measures
will enable the reef ecosystem to remain robust.
D) A 9000 year-old coral specimen that is directly
attached to bedrock
D) argue that a few of the apparent threats to the
reefs have been explained on the basis of faulty
data.
27
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 11-16 (“USGS . . . present day”)
B) Lines 25-28 (“If . . . Lauren Toth”)
C) Lines 29-31 (“Florida’s . . . structure”)
D) Lines 51-55 (“Corals . . . Fahrenheit”)
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CONTINUE
Test 2
30
32
Together, the graph and the table indicate that
Which additional visual, if considered alongside
the graph and the table, would be most useful in
evaluating Lauren Toth’s claims in the final paragraph
of the passage?
A) the coral reef formation in the Florida Keys
reached its largest size 6000 years ago.
B) the erosion of the Florida Keys coral reefs began
roughly 3000 years ago.
A) A table indicating the total size of the Florida
Keys reef ecosystem in square footage for every
thousand years
C) coral reef growth rates can decline even when
average temperature remains constant.
B) A table recording the rate of reef erosion as
measured in feet per thousand years
D) increases in average water temperature cause
consistent increases in coral reef growth rates.
C) A graph that directly compares growth rate in feet
per thousand years to temperature
D) A graph that indicates the mass over time of dead
coral in the Florida Keys
31
On the basis of the passage and the graph, the ideal
temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) for coral growth
in the Florida Keys is approximately
A) 65 degrees.
B) 75 degrees.
C) 80 degrees.
D) 85 degrees.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
Questions 33-42 are based on the
following passage and supplementary
material.
40
This passage is adapted from “Optimism, But
Obstacles Abound for the Future of Malaria
Control” by Lorenz von Seidlein. Originally
published* in Speaking of Medicine, the
PLOS medical blog.
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On World Malaria Day 2018, there are many
things to be hopeful for. The Multilateral Initiative
on Malaria hosted the 7th Pan African Malaria
conference from April 15th to 20th in Dakar,
Senegal, where several drug producers presented
information on new anti-malarial candidates.
Notably, the Novartis Institute discussed the drug
candidates KAF 156 and KAE 609, which could
be licensed in the coming years. . . Meanwhile
at the Malaria Summit in London, Bill Gates
with a number of governments, international
organizations, and members of civil society and
the private sector pledged investments worth a
collective $4 billion in the continued fight against
malaria. . .
The future may look bright but the current
situation is complex. The 2017 WHO World
Malaria Report (WMR) indicated for the first time
after many years of steady decreases an increase
in the global number of malaria cases from 211
million in 2015 to 216 million in 2016. The report
is hampered by the fact that the WHO once more
changed its reporting methodology for the 2017
report without giving a clear explanation why
and how this was done. As a result the number of
cases for previous years has been once
more revised in the 2017 report. (Case burden
estimates for 2010 have been revised seven
times in as many years!) The inconsistency of
reporting methodology makes the trends difficult
to interpret and adds doubt to the reliability of the
findings. The undeniably heterogeneous malaria
burden across countries in sub Saharan Africa
further complicates the situation. Twenty years
ago The Gambia routinely reported a P. falciparum
infection prevalence of around 40% at the peak
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of the rainy season. Five sub-Saharan countries,
including The Gambia, have seen a significant
decrease in malaria prevalence, dropping to as low
as 0.1% in The Gambia during the 2017 season,
whereas 24 high-burden countries saw increases
in malaria. Considering the available evidence, it
would probably be safer to suggest that trends in
malaria burden are mixed.
The technologies presented in Dakar and
London hold promise, but relying on the potential
of new technologies has led to disappointment
in the past, as the dashed hope in an ideal
malaria vaccine illustrated. The effectiveness
of these newer technologies remains unproven;
meanwhile, insecticide and antimalarial resistance
continue to emerge and spread. . .
Among the few points on which malaria
experts working in Africa and Asia can agree
is that access to bednets, early diagnosis, and
appropriate treatment remain the basic control
measures. Uninterrupted, universal access to such
basic control measures will over time suppress
the transmission of malaria. Supplying every
household in malaria endemic regions with access
to basic control measures should be a common
cause around which all parties can rally. But
providing such access to the 3.4 billion people
globally at risk for malaria will cost more than
even Bill Gates can afford. Only a concerted effort
by heads of states of affected malaria-endemic
countries as well as high-income countries can
address such a challenge.
Meanwhile in the many conflict zones access
to basic control measures remains sporadic or
permanently absent. In the centre of Africa,
Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, and
eastern Congo even the most basic reporting
of the malaria cases and deaths is unreliable or
completely absent. This is a situation which was
not discussed, has not been addressed, and will
become worse as militarization of these conflict
zones increases. Policymakers and intervention
forces would be well advised to adopt quickly
some of the lessons learned in The Gambia
in conflict regions currently neglected by the
international malaria programmes.
CONTINUE
Test 2
85
90
There are a number of threats to malaria
control, not to mention elimination, including drug
and insecticide resistance, disruption of sustained
funding, and armed conflicts. But there is also
reason for optimism as new antimalarial drugs
and vector control technologies could become
available. There is a hope that policymakers
and the international funders appreciate and can
replicate the success in malaria control achieved
in a few select countries, like The Gambia.
35
The primary effect of the parenthetical statement in
lines 27-29 is to
A) call attention to one of the central failings of
current fundraising practices.
B) present an earlier finding in a more accessible
manner.
C) broaden one of the author’s critiques to consider a
longer period of time.
D) paraphrase a new perspective on a health crisis.
33
Over the course of the first two paragraphs, the
author’s focus shifts from
36
A) praising a long-term solution to suggesting that
this approach has unfortunate short-term
liabilities.
Which additional piece of evidence would support
the author’s argument about malaria trends in sub
Saharan Africa for 2017?
B) presenting demographic statistics to questioning
whether the data in question have been
interpreted correctly.
A) The number of malaria-related deaths in The
Gambia represents a public health crisis to some
observers.
C) citing key figures and organizations in an
approving manner to urging them to take greater
responsibility.
B) The Gambia worked with other countries in the
region to reduce malaria-related deaths by almost
170,000 from the 2016 figure.
D) surveying the extent of an endeavor to assessing
procedures for documentation.
C) Malaria prevalence has risen from under 3% to
over 7% in at least half of the countries in this
region.
34
Which choice indicates that the author of the passage
is convinced that previous attempts to combat malaria
have been deficient?
A) Lines 21-24 (“The report . . . done”)
D) Malaria rates in The Gambia were initially
projected to mirror those in nations where malaria
is most prevalent.
37
B) Lines 29-32 (“The inconsistency . . . findings”)
C) Lines 45-49 (“The technologies . . . illustrated”)
As used in lines 58 and 61, “basic” most nearly
means
D) Lines 57-59 (“Uninterrupted . . . malaria”)
A) indispensable.
B) rough-hewn.
C) natural.
D) formative.
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CONTINUE
Test 2
Cases of Malaria Worldwide
20
Annual Cases (Million)
Annual Dollars (Billion)
Investment in Efforts to Combat Malaria
17.5
15
12.5
2015
2016
2017
2018
250
225
200
175
2015
38
2016
2017
2018
41
As used in line 58, “suppress” most nearly means
On the basis of the two graphs, it can be inferred
that increased annual investment in efforts to combat
malaria
A) conceal.
B) inhibit.
A) does not correlate to lower numbers of malaria
cases worldwide.
C) burden.
D) placate.
B) is a typical response to a worldwide malaria
outbreak.
C) has little ability to decrease the number of malaria
cases worldwide.
39
Within the passage, the author characterizes The
Gambia as a nation that
D) is most effective in short-term control of malaria
outbreaks.
A) has recently resolved a difficult political crisis.
B) experiences severe malaria outbreaks as a result
of unique climate and weather conditions.
42
C) recently improved its official methods for
documenting malaria cases.
Which of the following statements about Bill Gates
best reflects the information provided in the passage
and the graphs?
D) provides a model of malaria prevention that
should be imitated by other African countries.
A) His investments have inspired smaller
contributions to the campaign against malaria.
B) His contributions to the worldwide campaign
against malaria represent a fraction of the total
funds dedicated to this cause.
40
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
C) His 2018 contribution to the fight against malaria
represents the culmination of a long-term
initiative.
A) Lines 34-37 (“Twenty . . . season”)
B) Lines 37-42 (“Five . . . malaria”)
D) His most recent investment in the campaign
against malaria has not been allocated in the most
effective manner possible.
C) Lines 71-75 (“In the . . . absent”)
D) Lines 78-82 (“Policymakers . . . programmes”)
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CONTINUE
Test 2
Questions 43-52 are based on the
following passage.
40
This passage is adapted from Amanda
Griffin, “Tupperware Takes to Space to Help
Improve Astronaut Diets,” a 2018 news
release* from nasa.gov.
Line
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
45
For decades, airtight plastic containers have
been synonymous with keeping baked goods and
leftovers fresh. Now a manufacturer of iconic,
household plasticware is helping provide fresh
food in space.
As NASA plans for future missions to deep
space destinations, the nutritional boost of fresh
food and the psychological benefits of growing
plants become more and more paramount. Since
2015, NASA astronauts have supplemented
their space diet with fresh greens grown in the
Vegetable Production System known as “Veggie”
on the International Space Station.
One of the challenges with growing plants in
space in Veggie has been keeping them properly
watered. The Tupperware Brands Corporation has
lent its design expertise to help develop a new
approach to watering plants in space.
With the Veggie system, astronauts have to
push water into each plant pillow with a syringe.
In previous crops grown in the Veggie system
using pillows, some plants fared better than others
because not all the plants received equal amounts
of water and oxygen.
“The primary goal of this newly developed
plant growing system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient
Delivery System, or PONDS, is to achieve
uniform plant growth,” said Nicole Dufour,
Veggie project manager at NASA’s Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
NASA research scientist Howard Levine
initially designed and prototyped PONDS but in
early 2017 handed it off to Techshot, a private
spaceflight services firm, to further develop and
certify the demonstration unit for use on the
orbiting laboratory. In turn, Techshot reached out
to Tupperware to help create the new system that
would provide an alternative to the plant pillows.
*See Page 247 for the citation for this text.
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50
55
60
65
70
75
80
“PONDS units have features that are designed
to mitigate microgravity effects on water
distribution, increase oxygen availability and
provide sufficient room for root zone growth,”
Dufour explained.
The new PONDS system requires less crew
maintenance and uses absorbent mats that
leverage the basic principles of surface tension
and capillary action to send water to seeds and
roots through a reservoir system. This approach
passively disperses water evenly through each
plant cylinder contained within the PONDS
reservoirs, facilitating consistent seed germination
and seedling development into mature plants.
“It’s been great working closely with the
talented teams of engineers, designers and
scientists at NASA and Tupperware on the
project,” said Dave Reed, Techshot’s PONDS
project manager and the company’s director of
launch operations. “Tupperware brings a wealth
of innovative design and knowledge of plastics to
this project.”
The upcoming SpaceX CRS-14 commercial
resupply mission will include seven PONDS
modules plus an adapter plate so the modules
can be installed in the Veggie system. Included
are four black opaque modules that will grow
Outredgeous red romaine lettuce—the same
lettuce that has been grown previously in the
Veggie facility—for about a month. Two shrouded
modules each include a clear window and
removable cover that allow astronauts to directly
observe root growth of the same romaine lettuce
plus assess water distribution in the hydroponic
reservoir. One clear module will be used to
perform testing and videography to characterize
the microgravity hydrodynamics of the reservoir.
Six more PONDS modules are slated to launch
on an Orbital ATK commercial resupply mission
later this year and will be seeded with Mizuna
mustard. Both the lettuce and the mustard have
already been grown in plant pillows as a part of
previous Veggie experiments, so the plant pillow
and PONDS growth data will be compared against
one another.
CONTINUE
Test 2
46
43
Which statement from the passage most effectively
supports the claims that the author presents in
lines 9-13 (“Since . . . Space Station”)?
The main purpose of the passage is to
A) describe a nutritional project that represents a
decisive improvement.
B) relate the need for new technologies to the
emergence of new space missions.
A) Lines 16-18 (“The Tupperware . . . space”)
C) explain how a single project promotes a method
of cooperation across industries.
C) Lines 61-64 (“The upcoming . . . system”)
B) Lines 39-43 (“Ponds . . . explained”)
D) Lines 64-68 (“Included . . . month”)
D) praise the foresight of researchers who
re-purposed everyday items.
47
The author of the passage explains that one important
feature of the “Veggie” system is
44
According to the passage, which statement best
describes the problem that the PONDS system was
designed to solve?
A) module design that intentionally causes plants of
different types to grow at different rates.
B) an apparatus that can filter oxygen from other
gases when deployed in outer space.
A) Resources were being dispersed to plants in
such a manner that the growth of the plants was
not regularized.
C) manual involvement on the part of the astronauts
who will consume the resulting produce.
B) Arrangements based on the pillow apparatus
weakened some plants by causing growing areas
to flood.
D) reliance on technologies that were initially
developed for household use on Earth.
C) Only plant species that could grow on Earth in
conditions of water and oxygen deprivation could
be cultivated in space.
48
As used in line 33, “handed it off to” most nearly
means
D) Microgravity conditions would cause plants
that were meant to be kept separate to compete
for resources.
A) forced it towards.
B) delegated responsibility to.
C) left it available to.
45
D) renounced any involvement with.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 19-20 (“With . . . syringe”)
B) Lines 21-24 (“In previous . . . oxygen”)
C) Lines 36-38 (“In turn . . . pillows”)
D) Lines 44-48 (“The new . . . system”)
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CONTINUE
Test 2
49
51
As used in line 49, “evenly” most nearly means
It can be inferred from Dave Reed’s comments in the
passage that Reed regards Tupperware’s specialists as
A) uniformly.
A) respected competitors.
B) calmly.
B) under-appreciated visionaries.
C) effortlessly.
C) helpful subordinates.
D) fairly.
D) insightful collaborators.
50
52
One advantage of the PONDS system, relative to
earlier methods of growing plants in space, is that
The final paragraph of the passage functions to
A) it is more cost efficient than earlier methods for
growing plants in the absence of gravity.
A) underscore a liability of the Veggie system.
B) anticipate a way in which PONDS will build
upon earlier growing projects.
B) it can be operated without any preliminary
training on the part of astronauts.
C) justify a change in the recommended astronaut
diet.
C) it can facilitate robust plant growth in a manner
that requires less human supervision.
D) signal a future point of collaboration between
NASA and Tupperware product engineers.
D) it can grow a more impressive variety of large
plants than could be grown under the Veggie
system.
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section.
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Answer Key: Test 2
Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
Passage 4
Passage 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
D
A
B
D
B
B
D
C
D
C
C
C
A
D
C
B
A
D
D
B
D
B
B
D
B
D
A
A
B
C
B
B
Question Types
Major Issue
1-2, 22, 43
Passage Details
3-4, 8, 15-16, 29, 33, 35-36, 47, 50-52
Command of Evidence
5-7, 11-12, 23-24, 26-27, 34, 39-40, 44-46
Word in Context
9-10, 13-14, 25, 28, 37-38, 48-49
Graphics and Visuals
30-32, 41-42
Passage Comparison
17-21
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234
D
C
C
C
A
B
D
D
A
B
A
A
B
D
C
B
A
C
D
B
Self-Evaluation
Checklist for Test 2
Passage Types
•
Hardest Readings ________________________ ; ________________________
•
Easiest Readings
________________________ ; ________________________
Sources of Difficulty
(Check all that apply.)
____ Comprehending Main Idea (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Remembering Passage Details (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
____ Working with Style and Vocabulary (Passages ___, ___, ___ )
Question Types
•
Major Issue:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Passage Details: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
CoE:
Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
•
Word in Context: Incorrect ____
Tossup ____
Challenges: _______________________
Sources of Difficulty
____ Understanding the Question
____ Locating or Analyzing Evidence
(Check all that apply.)
____
Predicting the Answers____ Eliminating False Answers
Vocabulary
•
New Words: ______________________________________________________________________
•
Total Questions with Advanced Vocabulary ____
Number Right ____
Number Wrong ____
Overall Strategy
•
Time Per Passage (Estimate): 1 ____
•
Total Time for the Test ____
•
Passages with Note-Taking ____
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
•
Passages with NO Notes
Questions Right for These ____
Questions Wrong for These ____
____
2 ____
3____
Time Left Over ____
Sources of Difficulty ____ Slow Reading or Rereading
(Check all that apply.)
____ Inaccurate Annotations
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4 ____
5 ____
OR Time Needed Beyond 65 Minutes ____
____ Complicated or Time-Consuming Notes
____ Rushed Through Passages or Questions
Answer Explanations
Test 2, Pages 218-233
Passage 1, Pages 218-220
1. D is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on two men meeting one another by chance while sitting on the same train, and the way
in which they respond to one another. Choose D, and be careful not to choose C, since it is NOT clear that the
two men strike up a friendship, only that they end up speaking to one another. A and B can both be dismissed
since there is no evidence that one character has a pessimistic outlook, or that unpleasant events have recently
occurred; the fact that Everett is somewhat overshadowed by his brother should not be mistaken for these
much stronger negatives.
2. A is the correct answer.
The passage describes some of Everett’s memories by noting that “Everett had heard that air on guitars in
Old Mexico, on mandolins at college glees, on cottage organs in New England hamlets” (lines 44-46). The
narration also includes Everett’s reflections, such as when he thinks to himself that “it was the sort of thing that
a man of genius outgrows as soon as he can” (lines 57-58). This content hints at Everett’s attitude towards the
symphony and towards his brother; choose A. Be careful not to choose D, since Everett’s background is NOT
clearly established in the passage beyond his familial connection to his brother; B can also be eliminated,
since not enough information is given for a reader to be able to contrast Everett’s past and present. C wrongly
indicates that Everett misunderstands Proserpine, when in fact he has analyzed the composition and seems to
grasp its significance in his brother’s career.
3. B is the correct answer.
The train on which Everett travels is known as the High-Line Flyer, which implies energy and dynamism.
Instead, the train only has a few passengers and seems to move quite slowly through unexciting locales. In this
context, the name of the train can best be understood as ironic; choose answer B. The train does in fact function
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
without inviting disaster (eliminating A) and yet does not inspire affection in any clear way (eliminating C). D
can be eliminated because the passage DOES indicate the unusual significance of the train’s name rather than
attaching a sense of bewilderment or mystery to the train.
4. D is the correct answer.
The landscape the train is passing through is initially described as “bleak, lifeless country” and then the more
detailed description in lines 25-30 expands on this impression in a manner that justifies D. It is NOT clear
whether or not the landscape is familiar to the travelers, despite the detailed manner in which the landscape
is described, so that C can be eliminated. A and B can both be ruled out since it is NOT evident that Everett
(who mostly reflects on his brother in an analytic manner) is in a state of discomfort, or what his destination
will be like.
5. B is the correct answer.
A focuses on how the man treats Everett in a way that Everett has become accustomed to, while C shows
that Everett knows that he is being mistaken for his brother. D describes how, once they begin speaking, the
man behaves in a way that Everett has experienced before. B describes how the unknown man responds to
Everett’s overture of friendliness by introducing himself, which does NOT indicate that this encounter is
similar to others that Everett has had before; thus, choose B and dismiss the others.
6. B is the correct answer.
Everett reflects that he was not “exactly ashamed of Proserpine; only a man of genius could have written
it, but it was the sort of thing that a man of genius outgrows as soon as he can” (lines 55-58); this content
suggests that, while Everett has some misgivings, he believes that the symphony is a reflection of his brother’s
talent. Choose B and be careful not to choose D, since while Everett reflects that he has heard the symphony
performed in many different styles, it does NOT follow that he thinks that all of these styles are pleasing.
A (which offers a prediction about the future popularity of Proserpine) and C (which offers a developed
statement about Adriance, who is described mostly in passing) can both be eliminated since they rely on
speculation outside of the scope of the passage, which mainly depicts a single scene of interaction.
7. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A describes a variety of styles
and the different locations where Everett has heard the music performed; B describes how Adriance’s career
has progressed. C shows how Everett constantly encounters the music, even in unexpected places. None of
these other answers reflect Everett’s view of his brother’s talent, and all should be dismissed.
8. C is the correct answer.
When he learns that he has mistaken Everett for his brother, the traveling man is still very pleased to encounter
someone who is associated with a musician whom he admires, as indicated in the final two paragraphs of the
passage. Choose C to support this content. Be careful not to choose A, since while the traveling man is still
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
happy to meet Everett, he does NOT respond to him the same way he would have responded to Adriance. B
(which mistakes the man’s appreciation for Adriance for a more active and involved stance) and D (which
mistakes the man’s generally positive reaction to Proserpine for a more specific desire to appeal to Everett)
are both illogical within the scope of the passage.
9. D is the correct answer.
In line 71, “vehemence” refers to the physical force with which the man strikes his hand against his leg;
choose D to support this content. A (“unbounded”) overstates the strength of the man’s action, while B and C
both refer to strong positive emotions or to admirable qualities, NOT to a physical movement.
10. C is the correct answer.
In line 81, “concern” refers to the larger entity of which the publishing department forms a part; here, the man
is talking about a line of work. Choose C to reflect this content; all of the other answers are illogical within
the scope of the passage. A (indicating information), B (indicating an event), and D (indicating a passion or
mission) are not effective choices to reflect the straightforward context of employment.
Passage 2, Pages 221-223
11. C is the correct answer.
In lines 28-31, Goldman describes how masculine control over property and domestic life means that wives
eventually lose their autonomy and independence. This content best supports C. A can be rejected since
Goldman does NOT discuss whether men acknowledge or ignore the impact of societal expectations for
women, while B can be rejected because Goldman suggests that the suppression of female agency and curiosity
happens organically as a result of domestic life, NOT through deliberate effort on the part of men. D can be
rejected since Goldman does not discuss whether men are appreciative or not, and implies that even if a man
were to appreciate the domestic labor of his wife, this labor would still be damaging to her.
12. C is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A asks a rhetorical question in
order to imply that women grow up with the cultural expectation of eventually becoming wives and mothers,
while B notes that if a woman has to both work outside of the home and also handle all of the housework,
she is likely to be unsatisfied with her quality of life. D argues that after only a short period of being confined
entirely to the domestic world, women become incapable of thriving in the wider world. None of these other
answers discuss how men’s power over domestic life impacts female independence, and therefore they should
all be dismissed.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
13. A is the correct answer.
In line 33, “driving” is used in the context of a man reacting to perceived negative qualities in his wife by
leaving the house and thus refers to alienating or pushing someone away. Choose A to reflect this meaning.
B (inappropriately implying deliberate control and strategy), C (inappropriately referring to transmitting or
passing on knowledge), and D (implying encouragement) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be
eliminated.
14. D is the correct answer.
In lines 45 and 48, “function” refers to the possible purpose or use of a home and thus indicates the intended
goal of something. Choose D to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately referring to a singular, clearly defined
occurrence), B (inappropriately implying leisure or pleasure), and C (implying the way in which something is
organized or constructed) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
15. C is the correct answer.
In lines 57-58, Tarbell laments that there are men and women who feel no emotional connection to their
family and domestic life, being preoccupied instead with labor and a sense of drudgery. This exclamation
shows Tarbell’s focus on an area of chief concern in the passage; choose C to support this content. A can be
dismissed since Tarbell does NOT believe that this state of emotional disconnection is a reality for many or
most women, while B can be rejected since the exclamation identifies a social problem rather than responding
to a specific proposal. D can be rejected since the exclamation reflects a topic that Tarbell wants to address,
NOT a response to the way in which she addresses it.
16. B is the correct answer.
In the final paragraph of the passage, Tarbell offers a summary of the responsibilities and power involved in
running a home, and reflects admiringly on how important women’s role as the center of home life is. Choose
B to reflect this content. A can be rejected since Tarbell clearly feels that women already occupy a dominant
position within the domestic world, while C can be rejected since Tarbell does not discuss male qualities or
responsibilities within this portion of the passage. D can be rejected since Tarbell’s remarks here are general
and relevant to an entire gender, NOT specific and relevant mainly to one household.
17. A is the correct answer.
Both Goldman and Tarbell address the way in which labor can be emotionally and mentally taxing: Goldman
compares domestic life to an extension of the oppressive labor involved in working life while Tarbell favorably
contrasts the domestic world with the soul-crushing realities of labor. Choose A to reflect this content. B can
be eliminated since neither Goldman nor Tarbell spends much time discussing the ideal way to organize
domestic life, while C can be rejected since Goldman and Tarbell appear to have sharply divergent views
on how women should approach social and political reform. D can also be eliminated since neither passage
explores how men feel about domestic labor.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
18. D is the correct answer.
Both Goldman and Tarbell seek to answer the question of whether or not women are intellectually and
emotionally fulfilled by domestic life, even though these authors arrive at opposite answers. Choose D to
support this content. A and C can both be eliminated since neither passage offers a historical perspective or
a contrast between past and present (as opposed to analysis mainly of present circumstances), while B must
be eliminated since there is not consensus between the passages as to whether or not women are actually
disadvantaged.
19. D is the correct answer.
In line 52, Tarbell describes “man” as a figure oppressed by current economic systems and required to focus
all his attention on his working life. Goldman, although more interested in describing what happens to women
after they marry, also sees current labor conditions as oppressive to both men and women and would therefore
likely see Tarbell’s description as generally accurate. Choose D to reflect this content. A can be rejected since
both Tarbell and Goldman take the oppression created by current labor conditions quite seriously, while B can
be eliminated since Tarbell’s description reveals someone who is victimized, not someone who is in a position
of power or authority. C can also be rejected since Goldman does not present a perspective that construes
current labor conditions as in the process of rapid change, despite her overall interest in labor-related problems.
20. B is the correct answer.
In lines 75-77, Tarbell argues that women hold a significant degree of authority and autonomy within domestic
life, functioning as the primary decision makers about questions related to the home. This content suggests that
she would disagree with Goldman’s premise that women lack authority within the domestic sphere; choose
B to reflect this content. A can be rejected since neither passage gives a chronological explanation of social
progress, while C can be eliminated since Tarbell does NOT discuss in detail the economic implications of
domestic life. D can also be ruled out since Goldman does NOT necessarily assume that women are resigned
to their roles, and Tarbell does not contradict this assumption directly.
21. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A contrasts the moral and
emotional purpose of a home with a strictly materialist view, while B laments how some types of men and
women misunderstand the purpose and function of a home. C underscores Tarbell’s view of how destructive
it would be to give in to a viewpoint that does not celebrate the significance of domestic life. None of these
other line references challenge Goldman’s view that women lack authority within the domestic world, and
therefore they can all be dismissed.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
Passage 3, Pages 224-227
22. B is the correct answer.
In lines 4-5, the author refers to “a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey,” indicating access to specialized
knowledge. Throughout the passage, the author maintains an objective and factual tone, indicating an unbiased
perspective; choose B to support this content. A can be eliminated since the author never refers to having
personally conducted any research; C and D can also be eliminated, since while the author quotes a researcher
who expresses concern about “losing reef structures that took thousands of years to build” (lines 86-88), it
does NOT necessarily follow that the author is personally unsettled by the crisis or seeking a solution to it.
23. B is the correct answer.
Lines 76-79 explain that “warmer water, coral diseases, bleaching, and other stresses caused the reefs to begin
eroding.” This information indicates that a change in water temperature is one of several factors that can
decrease reef size; choose B to support this content. C can be dismissed as illogical, since the passage indicates
that changes in water temperature contribute to reef erosion, NOT that they counteract it. A and D can also be
eliminated as outside of the scope of the passage, since these answers do not reflect that the passage considers
temperature changes in the context of coral reef growth and AVOIDS discussion of temperature change on its
own.
24. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A summarizes the finding
of a study indicating that the Florida Keys Reef is no longer growing, while B describes the relationship
between changing water temperatures and the growth of the reef. C gives a more detailed description of how
colder water temperatures impacted reef growth. While some of these other answers discuss a connection
between water temperature and a lack of growth, none of these answers address the connection between water
temperature and an existing reef decreasing in size. Therefore, all other answers should be eliminated.
25. B is the correct answer.
In line 7, “points to” refers to how specific occurrences (bleaching and disease outbreaks) signify a larger
condition (a state of erosion). Choose B to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying a subtle or unstated
connection), C (inappropriately implying a personalized statement of blame), and D (inappropriately implying
the introduction of prejudice or shame) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
26. D is the correct answer.
The passage indicates that “marine scientists based in St. Petersburg, Florida analyzed 46 coral reef cores
collected throughout the Keys, reconstructing the reefs’ growth from 8000 years ago, when layers of living
coral began building up on top of older bedrock, to the present day” (lines 11-16). A 9000 year-old coral
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
specimen falls outside this range and would be unlikely to be present; choose D to support this content. A, B,
and C all describe specimens that fall within a range in which coral specimens were known to exist.
27. A is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. B describes the likely age of
a coral specimen from the reef’s top layer, while C describes a shift in the reef’s growth and expansion. D
describes the ideal water temperature in which coral can thrive. None of these other answers identify why a
9000 year-old specimen would NOT be found in the reef, and all should be dismissed.
28. A is the correct answer.
In line 46, “peaked” refers to the moment at which the growth rate reached its maximum pace, after which
it started to decline. Choose A to reflect this meaning. B (inappropriately implying negative connotations
associated with the rate of growth), C (inappropriately implying a personal reaction to the rate), and D
(inappropriately implying that certain types of measurement were not possible) all introduce improper contexts
and should thus be eliminated.
29. B is the correct answer.
While some might assume that a coral reef stops thriving after it stops growing, the passage describes
how “Even after the Keys reefs stopped growing upward, they supported diverse communities of marine
life, protected the island chain from storm waves and erosion, and provided other ecosystem functions for
thousands of years” (lines 72-76). The reef made valuable ecological contributions even while no longer
growing; choose B to reflect this content. Since the focus here is on the period of reef non-growth, NOT reef
deterioration, A can be eliminated. C and D can be eliminated since the focus here is on factual description,
not expressions of rhetoric or emotion that involve strong and critical negative tones.
30. C is the correct answer.
The table indicates that the growth rate of the coral reef declined steadily beginning 7000 years ago, while the
chart indicates that in the period between 6000 and 3000 years ago, water temperatures remained fairly stable.
The combination of this data indicates that reef growth can decline even when water temperature remains
steady; choose C to support this content. D can be eliminated as illogical, since the table indicates decline in
growth rates rather than increase. A and B can also be eliminated since the additional data sources do NOT
offer details of erosion rates or overall reef size.
31. B is the correct answer.
The passage indicates that the reef’s “growth rate . . . peaked about 7000 years ago, when water temperatures
were ideal for coral growth” (lines 45-48), while the chart indicates that 7000 years ago, the average water
temperature was around 75 degrees. Choose B to support this content. While A, C, and D all indicate
temperatures that fall within a range of ideal temperatures for coral growth, none of these other answers reflect
temperatures aligned with the average temperature 7000 years ago.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
32. B is the correct answer.
In the final paragraph, Toth refers to “dramatic declines in living coral,” and this claim could best be evaluated
if data were provided to show rates of reef erosion over time. Choose B to support this content. Be careful
not to choose A since changes in reef size are not only attributable to erosion and decline. C and D can be
eliminated since growth rates and measurements of dead coral do NOT help to measure declines.
Passage 4, Pages 228-230
33. D is the correct answer.
The author begins the passage by describing “many things to be hopeful for” (lines 1-2) and listing the extent
of endeavors to control malaria, but then shifts to acknowledging that “the current situation is complex” (lines
16-17) and assessing the WHO World Malaria Report. Choose D to support this content. B can be eliminated
since the passage begins with content that emphasizes events, NOT statistics, and C can be eliminated since
the author does not encourage the initial figures and organizations to take more responsibility (as opposed
to recording results). Be careful not to choose A, since the opening section describes potentially useful
interventions but NOT long-term solutions.
34. C is the correct answer.
In lines 45-49, the author refers to how “relying on the potential of new technologies has led to disappointment
in the past,” a statement which indicates that previous attempts at malaria control have apparently been
inadequate. Choose C to support this content. A offers a critique of report methodology while B expands on
this critique to explain the problems created by inconsistent methodology. D articulates an argument about
which measures will actually effectively combat malaria. None of these other answers give the author’s
perspective on previous malaria control attempts, and they should all be eliminated.
35. C is the correct answer.
In lines 27-29, the author uses a parenthetical statement to expand an initial critique. The initial critique
notes that the 2017 case burden estimate has been revised while the expanded critique refers to the case
burden estimate for 2010 having now been revised seven times. Choose C to support this content. A and B
can be eliminated since the critique is related to reporting, NOT related to fundraising, and the parenthetical
statement communicates new information, NOT the same information in a new way. D can be eliminated
since the statement does not involve paraphrase and in fact presents new information.
36. C is the correct answer.
In lines 37-42, the author explains that “Five sub-Saharan countries . . . have seen a significant decrease in
malaria prevalence . . . during the 2017 season, whereas 24 high-burden countries saw increases in malaria.”
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
Evidence indicating that rates have risen in some countries would support this claim; choose C to support this
content. A, B, and D present specific data related to The Gambia, and therefore would not support arguments
about BROADER malarial trends.
37. A is the correct answer.
In lines 58 and 61, “basic” refers to malarial control measures that are essential and highly functional. Choose A
to reflect this meaning. B (inappropriately implying a lack of sophistication or refinement), C (inappropriately
implying a lack of artificial intervention), and D (inappropriately implying that these measures contribute to
further development) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
38. B is the correct answer.
In line 58, “suppress” refers to control measures for preventing malaria transmission. Choose B to reflect this
meaning. A (inappropriately implying hiding or lying), C (inappropriately implying inconvenience), and D
(inappropriately implying soothing action) all introduce improper contexts and should thus be eliminated.
39. D is the correct answer.
In lines 78-82, the author argues that “Policymakers and intervention forces would be well advised to adopt
quickly some of the lessons learned in The Gambia,” implying that the author views The Gambia as a country
whose model of malaria prevention should be adopted by other countries. Choose D to support this content.
A and B can both be eliminated since there is no discussion of political circumstances, weather, or climate
conditions in The Gambia. C can be eliminated since the focus is on prevention, NOT documentation.
40. D is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A reports a malaria rate in
The Gambia at a previous point in time, while B summarizes the range of shifts in malaria rates in different
countries and C describes how some countries are noted for their severely limited reporting mechanisms.
None of these other answers DIRECTLY reflect how the author characterizes The Gambia, and therefore all
should be eliminated.
41. A is the correct answer.
The two graphs show that, between 2015 and 2016, investments in efforts to combat malaria increased, but
that during the same period the number of worldwide cases increased. This situation indicates that increased
annual investment does not necessarily correlate to a decreasing number of cases; choose A to support this
content. B and D can be eliminated since the graphs do not provide data related to specific outbreaks, only
to overall annual case numbers. Be careful not to choose C since in most, but not ALL, years increased
investment was associated with a lower number of cases.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
42. B is the correct answer.
In lines 63-65, the author explains that “providing such access to the 3.4 billion people globally at risk for
malaria will cost more than even Bill Gates can afford.” This statement indicates that personal contributions
by Gates represent only a percentage of the total budget for intervention; choose B to support this content. A,
C, and D can all be eliminated since the graph does not provide information about Gates’s interventions as
inspirations for other contributions, about long-term initiatives, or about the allocation of his contributions;
however, raw funding numbers ARE addressed in both the passage and the graph.
Passage 5, Pages 231-223
43. A is the correct answer.
The passage focuses on describing how “a manufacturer of iconic, household plasticware is helping provide
fresh food in space” (lines 3-5). Choose A to support this content. B can be dismissed since there is no
discussion of new space missions in the passage, and C can be eliminated since the initiative was led by a
single company, not a cross-industry collaboration. D can also be eliminated, since the project did not involve
re-purposing specific existing items, as opposed to ADAPTING a signature technology.
44. A is the correct answer.
In lines 21-24, the author describes how “In previous crops grown in the Veggie system using pillows, some
plants fared better than others because not all the plants received equal amounts of water and oxygen.” This
information indicates that plants were receiving inconsistent levels of nutrients and did not flourish equally;
choose A to support this content. B and C can be dismissed since the passage does not discuss issues with
flooding, or choosing specific plant species. Be careful not to choose D, since while the passage does discuss
unequal distribution of resources, it does NOT discuss microgravity as a source of this inequality.
45. B is the correct answer.
See the previous answer explanation for analysis of the correct line reference. A describes a previously
existing growing system, while C describes how Tupperware came to be tasked with developing a replacement
technology and D describes how the new PONDS system functions. None of these other answers describe the
problems that PONDS was designed to solve, and therefore all should be eliminated.
46. D is the correct answer.
In lines 9-13, the passage indicates that the Veggie system has allowed astronauts to eat fresh vegetables.
Lines 64-68 describe a specific vegetable product produced by the PONDS system that will be available to
astronauts; choose D to support this content. A names the corporation that collaborated on the project, while
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
B features an expert explaining the benefits of the PONDS system. C describes the outcome of the project.
None of these other answers support the claim about the benefits of eating fresh vegetables in space, and all
should be eliminated.
47. C is the correct answer.
In addition to indicating the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables, the passage examines “the psychological
benefits of growing plants” (lines 8-9). Choose C to support this content. A and B can be eliminated since
there is no discussion of plants growing at different rates, or of filtering oxygen from other gases. D can also
be eliminated since the passage addresses technologies that were designed specifically for outer-space use.
48. B is the correct answer.
In line 33, “handed it off” refers to how a NASA research scientist transferred responsibility for a project to
someone else. Choose B to reflect this meaning. A (inappropriately implying that the other party did not want
to accept the project), C (inappropriately implying giving the other party a choice about whether to accept
the project), and D (inappropriately implying abandoning responsibility) all introduce improper contexts and
should thus be eliminated.
49. A is the correct answer.
In line 49, “evenly” refers to water being distributed at a steady and uniform rate. Choose A to reflect this
meaning. B (inappropriately implying a particular emotional state), C (inappropriately implying personal
effort), and D (inappropriately implying justice and equity) all introduce improper contexts and should thus
be eliminated.
50. C is the correct answer.
The passage describes how the PONDS system “requires less crew maintenance” (lines 44-45) and facilitates
“consistent seed germination and seedling development into mature plants” (lines 51-52). Choose C to support
this content. A and B can be eliminated since there is no discussion of cost or required training in the passage,
while D can be eliminated since the passage suggests that the same plants will be grown in the new system,
NOT that new, larger plants will be grown.
51. D is the correct answer.
In lines 58-60, Reed is quoted as saying that “Tupperware brings a wealth of innovative design and knowledge
of plastics to this project.” This statement implies that Reed sees the specialists at Tupperware as insightful
collaborators; choose D to support this content. A and C can be eliminated since Tupperware is presented as
working equally towards shared goals, not as competing with or being subordinate to Techshot. Be careful not
to choose B, since Reed’s recognition of the Tupperware team members does NOT necessarily imply that they
are under-appreciated and thus need more recognition for their work.
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Answer Explanations, Test 2
52. B is the correct answer.
The final paragraph describes future plans for how “the plant pillow and PONDS growth data will be compared
against one another” (lines 81-83). This information indicates that PONDS will be used to build upon existing
plant growth technologies; choose B to support this content. A and C can be eliminated since the final paragraph
does not offer any risks associated with the Veggie system or recommended changes to astronaut diet. D can
also be eliminated since there is no discussion of plans for future collaborations, as opposed to future launches
and observations.
NOTES
•
Passage 3 on Pages 224-225, “Florida’s Coral Reefs Provide Window into the Past,” is adapted from the article of the same name published
by the United States Geological Survey. 23 October 2018, USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/floridas-coral-reefs-provide-window-past.
Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 4 on Pages 228-229, “Optimism, But Obstacles Abound for the Future of Malaria Control,” is adapted from the article of the
same name published by Speaking of Medicine, a PLOS community blog. 26 April 2018, the PLOS Blogs Network. https://blogs.plos.org/
speakingofmedicine/2018/04/25/optimism-but-obstacles-abound-for-the-future-of-malaria-control/. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 5 on Page 231, “Tupperware Takes to Space to Help Improve Astronaut Diets,” is adapted from the article of the same name
published by NASA. 29 March 2018, NASA.gov. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/tupperware-takes-to-space-to-help-improve-astronaut-diets.
Accessed 7 January 2019.
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Additional Content
Checklists and Citations
Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Fiction Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Important Characters
Character 1: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 2: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 3: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 4: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Overall Issues
Setting: _________________________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Themes: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________
3. _____________________ 4. _____________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Social Studies Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Overall Content
Core Topic or Question: ________________________________________
Source/Study 1: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 2: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 3: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Author: ________________; Position: ___________________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Thesis: _____________________________________________________
Conclusive: __ or Inconclusive: __ and WHY: ______________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Science Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Inquiry or Issue
Core Topic: __________________ Core Question: __________________
Source 1: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Source 2: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Other Hypotheses: ____________________________________________
Research and Experiments
Method 1: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 1: __________________ Conclusion 1: ____________________
Method 2: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 2: __________________ Conclusion 2: ____________________
Broad Outcomes: _____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
History Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Main Idea
Core Topic: _______________________________________________
Author’s Position: __________________________________________
Author’s Purpose: __________________________________________
Author’s Argument
Reason 1: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 2: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 3: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Opponent 1: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Opponent 2: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Passage Organization
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
2: __________________
_________________
3: __________________
_________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Main Writing Techniques: ______________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Science Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
History Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Techniques: _________________
_________
Techniques: _________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Fiction Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Important Characters
Character 1: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 2: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 3: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Character 4: ________________ ; Role/Traits: ______________________
___________________________________________________________
Overall Issues
Setting: _________________________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Themes: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________
3. _____________________ 4. _____________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Social Studies Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Overall Content
Core Topic or Question: ________________________________________
Source/Study 1: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 2: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Source/Study 3: ________________; Position: ______________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Author: ________________; Position: ___________________________
Evidence/Support: ____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Thesis: _____________________________________________________
Conclusive: __ or Inconclusive: __ and WHY: ______________________
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Science Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Inquiry or Issue
Core Topic: __________________ Core Question: __________________
Source 1: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Source 2: ________________; Hypothesis: ________________________
Other Hypotheses: ____________________________________________
Research and Experiments
Method 1: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 1: __________________ Conclusion 1: ____________________
Method 2: ___________________________________________________
Outcome 2: __________________ Conclusion 2: ____________________
Broad Outcomes: _____________________________________________
Overall Issues
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
_________________
2: __________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Visuals Summary: ____________________________________________
Visuals Related to Passage: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
History Checklist
Main Issue Strategy
Can you identify the following elements as they appear in the passage?
Main Idea
Core Topic: _______________________________________________
Author’s Position: __________________________________________
Author’s Purpose: __________________________________________
Author’s Argument
Reason 1: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 2: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Reason 3: _______________________________________ Tone: ______
Opponent 1: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Opponent 2: ________ Idea: ___________________ Flaw: ___________
Passage Organization
Shifts in Tone or Topic: 1: __________________
_________________
2: __________________
_________________
3: __________________
_________________
Structure: ___________________________________________________
Main Writing Techniques: ______________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
Science Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Inquiry/Issue: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 1: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Hypothesis 2: _______________
___________________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 1: ___________________
Outcome 1: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Method 2: ___________________
Outcome 2: __________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
_________
Final Outcomes: _____________
__________________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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Appendix A: Additional Passage Checklists
History Pairing
Passage Strategy
Can you identify and compare the main elements of the two passages?
Passage 1
Passage 2
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Core Topic: _________________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Author’s Position: ____________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 1: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Reason 2: ___________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Opponents: __________________
___________________________
Shifts: _________
Shifts: _________
_________
Techniques: _________________
_________
Techniques: _________________
Passage Comparison
Core Relationship: ____________________________________________
Points of Similarity: ___________________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 1: _____________________________________
Present ONLY in Passage 2: _____________________________________
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Appendix B: Passage Citations
Readings: Main Issue and Passage Details
Citations
•
Passage 2 on Pages 49, 86, and 174 (in the Visuals section), “Game Corrects Children’s Misreading
of Emotional Faces to Tame Irritability,” is adapted from the article of the same name published
by the National Institute of Mental Health. 22 June 2016, NIMH. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/
science-news/2016/game-corrects-childrens-misreading-of-emotional-faces-to-tame-irritability.shtml.
Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 3 on Pages 55 and 88, “A New Fossil Lace Bug with Unusual Antennae Joins the ‘Big’ Club,”
is adapted from the article of the same name published by EveryOne, the PLOS One community blog.
18 December 2015, PLOS Blogs Network. https://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2015/12/18/a-new-fossil-lacebug-with-unusual-antennae-joins-the-big-club/. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 6 on Pages 66-67 and 94-95, “The Dreams Ideas Are Made Of,” is adapted from the article of the
same name published by Inventors Eye. August 2014, United States Patent and Trademark Office. https://
www.uspto.gov/inventors/independent/eye/201408/index.jsp#ieye-article1. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 7 on Pages 68-69, 96-97, and 176-177 (in the Visuals section), “NIH researchers discover highly
infectious vehicle for transmission of viruses among humans,” is adapted from the article of the same
name published by the National Institutes of Health. 8 August 2018, NIH. https://www.nih.gov/newsevents/news-releases/nih-researchers-discover-highly-infectious-vehicle-transmission-viruses-amonghumans. Accessed 7 January 2019.
Readings: Command of Evidence and Word in Context
Citations
•
Passage 2 on Pages 112-113 and 134-135, “Creativity Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting U.S.
Artists,” is adapted from the article of the same name published by the Center for Cultural Innovation,
National Endowment for the Arts. September 2016, NEA. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/
Creativity-Connects-Final-Report.pdf. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 4 on Pages 116-117 and 138-139, “What in the World Is an Exoplanet?,” is adapted from the
article of the same name published by NASA. 12 April 2018, NASA.gov. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/
jpl/what-in-the-world-is-an-exoplanet. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Passage 6 on Pages 120-121, 142-143, and 178-179 (in the Visuals section), “Linking Isolated Languages:
Linguistic Relationships of the Carabayo,” is adapted from the article of the same name published by
EveryOne, the PLOS One community blog. 28 April 2014, PLOS Blogs Network. https://blogs.plos.org/
everyone/2014/04/28/linking-isolated-languages-linguistic-relationships-carabayo/. Accessed 7 January
2019.
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Appendix B: Passage Citations
•
Passage 7 on Pages 122-123 and 144-145, “Fruit Fly Mating Driven by a Tweak in a Specific Brain
Circuit,” is adapted from the article of the same name published by the National Institutes of Health. 16 July
2018, NIH.https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/fruit-fly-mating-driven-tweak-specific-braincircuit. Accessed 7 January 2019.
Readings: Paired Passages
Citations
•
Reading 1, Passage 1 on Pages 156 and 181 (in the Visuals section), “New 3D Measurements Improve
Understanding of Geomagnetic Storm Hazards,” is adapted from the article of the same name published
by the United States Geological Survey. 8 March 2018, USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-3dmeasurements-improve-understanding-geomagnetic-storm-hazards. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Reading 1, Passage 2 on Pages 156 and 181 (in the Visuals section), “Preparing the Nation for Intense Space
Weather,” is adapted from the article of the same name published by the United States Geological Survey.
1 May 2017, USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/preparing-nation-intense-space-weather. Accessed 7
January 2019.
•
Reading 3, Passage 1 on Page 161, “Could sleepless nights of terror be good for you?,” is adapted from the
article of the same name published by EveryOne, the PLOS One community blog. 24 October 2012, PLOS
Blogs Network. https://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2012/10/24/could-sleepless-nights-of-terror-be-good-foryou/. Accessed 7 January 2019.
•
Reading 3, Passage 2 on Pages 161-162, “Does poor sleep raise risk for Alzheimer’s disease?,” is adapted
from the article of the same name published by the National Institute on Aging. 29 February 2016, NIH.
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/does-poor-sleep-raise-risk-alzheimers-disease. Accessed 7 January 2019.
Please note that the visual evidence designed to accompany these passages and others in this book is designed
to test critical thinking skills and may not reflect historical data as a consequence of this intent.
For additional readings and relevant practice exercises
please visit prepvantagetutoring.com/reading.
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